A Muse's Curse: Tournament of the Muse
by Storming Cipher
Summary: Laila Moonstone's life is suddenly turned upside down when her best friend leaves her and she is taken to the Slender Mansion to be in their sick tournament: the Tournament of the Muse. But, along the way, she discovers there is more underneath the sick game they are playing. What does Laila find out? Will she win the tournament?
1. Prologue

**Part 1: Danger**

* * *

twist the telescope around, trying to get it aligned and ready for the shooting star show tonight. I stand under the shining night sky, lit by moonlight with a windproof jacket wrapped tightly around my body. I keep glancing up to the sky every now and again to make sure the show doesn't start. I hear my balcony doors open and someone stepping out.

"I've got some hot cocoa for the light show," a male voice says. I turn around and find a 15-year-old boy with tousled bronze-colored hair, a lean frame, and nearly a foot taller than me standing by the open door, two steaming mugs in both hands. By the light of the moon, I can see his crooked grin that makes my heart flutter. Vinny has been my best friend since we were in diapers, our parents very close. He's been by my side ever since. We would sometimes have sleepovers at each other's house. Tonight was one of those nights.

"Thanks Vinny," I say, taking one of the mugs and gesturing for him to sit down on one of the chairs out here, lack of light hiding the faint tint of pink dusting my cheeks.

"You know," Vinny starts, sitting down, "we don't need that old thing." He gestures to the telescope, taking a sip of the cocoa.

"Oh?" I quirk an eyebrow, taking a seat next to him. "And why is that?"

"This balcony gives us a clear view of the sky. No stars can hide from us."

I chuckle. "Except maybe those trees." I point to the dark silhouettes in my backyard.

"So a few stray trees, big deal. Not like it's a giant canopy or something."

I laugh at this and quickly check my phone for the time. 9:29 P.M. Almost time for the show to start. I turn my head to the sky and start smiling as the first star shoots across, leaving behind a trail of...red?

I frown. Something feels wrong. More stars streak across the sky, leaving more red behind. The red trails don't dissipate like they're supposed to, and soon the whole sky is painted in an angry, glowing red. I look to Vinny with a worried face. He reciprocates it as we both stare at the sky in bewilderment and worry. The moon starts showing his face and turns to a blood red color. This night was supposed to be a _new moon_ , not a full moon. The craters in the moon seem to move to form two eyes and a mouth angrily glaring down on me.

"What the hell?!" I shout to nobody in particular. I hear loud explosions as the shooting stars start exploding into dust in front of my eyes, painting the word "Muse" into the sky. I furrow my brows when I'm suddenly thrown forward, my head connected with the concrete. Pain explodes in my head as I stay down, my head spinning from the sudden blow. Another explosion sounds to my right and left as I squeeze my eyes shut, fearing the explosions. I feel something warm and sharp pierce my skin and debris rain down. My head stops spinning after a while as the explosions slow to a stop, I lift my head to find the glass of my window shattered everywhere. My cup had exploded as well as hot cocoa drips down my arms.

"What just happened?" I ask, in a daze.

"I don't know," Vinny says breathlessly, just like me. "But it can't be good."


	2. Chapter 1: Falling Apart

I scribble furiously in my notebook as my teacher drones on and on about whatever, trying to figure out why the sky bled that night. A night advertised as a showstopper. A showstopper was right. The night sky wanted a curtain call and closed the play before it was a minute in. Scowling I inked the whole entire page in black, marking out anything else that I may have written.

"Laila?" My teacher's voice brought me out of my angry thoughts.

"Yes?" I ask, looking up.

She looked at my desk and frowned. "Were you notes that horrendous to tear your notebook?"

I looked down and saw the ink had bled through a few pages and a couple of them had tear marks. I blush in embarrassment.

"Um, yes. Sorry." I lied and crumpled the ruined pages into a ball to throw away later.

She shook her head and continued with class.

 _Get your head in the game Laila,_ I mentally scold myself as I start writing real notes. _Don't wanna get in trouble, right?_ The rest of the time I spent trying to focus on the lesson at hand. But how can I focus on a lesson in the classroom when another demands my attention?

Class finally ended and lunch started. My classmates scampered out eagerly as I absentmindedly start packing my bag. I felt a hand on my shoulder and whirled around to see my teacher.

"Laila, are you okay?" she asked, concern in her voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little, sidetracked." I mumble.

"Well, just to be sure, I'm taking you to the counselor's." She took my hand and led me down the halls. Students were bustling about, talking, chatting, giggling like nothing ever happened a few nights ago. Everything was peachy keen. Everything was perfect.

Everything was not, and that's what scares me. Sometimes I wish I was that naive, believing everything was perfect when it wasn't. It was the same for…

"Ah, Laila Moonstone," the guidance counselor, Ms. Grimeskeep, clapped. Her curly red hair piled onto her head that made it look like a nest with sharp facial features and a pair of purple cats eye glasses that sat on the tip of her nose, her voice sounding like that of Minnie Mouse. I found it kind of ironic how she is supposed to keep our spirits up and "guide" us onto the right path into adulthood when her name has "grim" in it.

"Come, come, have a seat." She gestured toward the two plastic chairs in front of her desk. I took a seat as my teacher whispered to Ms. Grimeskeep. My teacher soon left, leaving me alone with the guidance counselor. "So I've heard you've been a little sidetracked recently." She says as she takes a sip of coffee.

I sheepishly shrug and rub the back of my head.

"Care to tell me about it?" She leaned forward, propping her head up with her hands.

"Well," I fiddle with the end of my shirt. "The strangest thing happened a couple of nights ago. I don't think anybody else saw it but they should have! The night sky started bleeding and debris started falling from the sky and the moon! It looked like it was angry at me! It was supposed to be a new moon too then it suddenly appeared. If I know _anything_ about astronomy, I know that can't happen."

Ms. Grimeskeep nodded at the appropriate times and her brows furrowed in...confusion? Concern? I'm not entirely certain. She coughed and straightened up. "Well, that's an interesting...story."

"Story?" I sputter. "It's not a _story_! It's real. It happened. I even have evidence. An alibi!"

She held a hand up. "There is nothing I can do but tell you to try to put it out of your mind and try to get through the school day. I will call your parents and tell them what's going on. Maybe they can help you more than I can."

I sit there in disbelief as Ms. Grimeskeep dials my parents. She talks to my parents and then puts the phone down and motions that I can go. I get up numbly and head to the cafeteria where I pick out some random foods and pay for them. I'm soon snapped out of my stupor when Vinny comes up to me.

"Hey, where've you been?" he asks.

"In the counselor's office." I sigh.

"Why?"

"Because I've been daydreaming in class and tearing up pages of my notes with a pen."

"Is it about Friday?"

"You know me too well."

He sighs. "We need to talk." He takes my arm and guides me through the crowds of students in the cafeteria. We sit down at an empty table where a plate of untouched food lays. I assume it's his and we sit across from each other. "Was it about the red sky?" He asks as he picks up a plastic fork and stabs some lettuce with it.

"Yes. The moon. The stars. Everything about last night." I cringe as I remember glass shattering. "Ooh, the mess."

"I've been thinking about that too."

"What about it?"

"Maybe it's a sign."

"About what?"

"That something bad's gonna happen and it involves…" He mumbles something inaudible, pushing his salad around his tray,

"What? I didn't hear the last part."

"That something bad's gonna happen and it involves...us." He turns his face away and stuffs his mouth with lettuce.

I lean back and stare blankly at him. "Is that good or...bad?"

Vinny runs a hand through his hair and furrows his brows. He takes his time chewing and swallowing and I fear his answer.

"Is it bad?" I press.

"I…" He's interrupted by a high pitched voice.

"Vinny!" A girl with curly blonde hair bounces to his side and squashes him in her boob implants.

I groan loudly and Vinny looks down at his hands, trying to ignore the bitch.

"What are you doing all the way over here?" She says in an annoying voice as her bitches follow close behind. The girl whom I hate is Aria. She has blonde hair, sun-kissed skin, bright blue eyes, bright blue eyeshadow, red lipstick the color of blood, long nails painted bright blue, bright blue tight low-cut crop top, pencil mini skirt with 10-inch platform high heels. Her bitches are Octavia and Melody who look like they could be her sisters but they're just friends. Octavia has cropped blonde hair, brown eyes with streaks of pink in it, wears hot pink eyeshadow, bright pink lipstick, bright pink nail polish, bright pink crop top shirt and mini pencil skirt with the same color 5-inch platform high heels. Melody is the same except her color is pastel green and her eyes are green. "How are you? It's been _forever_!"

"Um, Aria?" I say. "You're suffocating him."

"What?" she asked in a loud, annoying voice. "He's _enjoying_ the view. Aren't you?"

I get up and pry the bitch off of Vinny, who gives me a pained look, which confuses me. Aria jerks out of my hold and runs a hand down Vinny's chest. "Don't get in the way of my _boyfriend_."

"I'm not your boyfriend Aria." Aria purses her lips in what resembles a pout.

"And don't you have your other _toys_ to play with?" I put my hands on my hips.

She snarls at me and kisses Vinny's cheek, leaving a red lipstick stain there. "See you later cutie." They leave and harshly bump their shoulders against me. I look at Vinny's cheeks tint pink as he rubs at the mark.

 _Stupid bitches,_ I think to myself as I grab some napkins, giving them to Vinny. _Thinking they can get_ anything _they want if they flaunt their breasts._ I will admit though, I sometimes wish _my_ body could impress people with an hourglass figure and gorgeous face but...I guess I'm not attractive enough.

"Now, what were you saying before we were so _rudely_ interrupted?"

Vinny looks down in shame and twiddles his thumbs. _This can't be good._

"Well, I thought. Maybe we shouldn't be...friends...anymore."

Everything around me did not exist. It was only me and Vinny and my seat slipped from under me and I'm falling, falling, falling, falling. My heart ripping, like a knife stabbed it and is slowly slicing through me. I open my mouth and try to utter a word but they seem to be stuck in my throat. Vinny looks down in shame and says, "I should probably be going."

I don't know what came over me but my fingers curled into fists and I roughly grab onto his hand.

"Is this what you wanted?" I growl. "Was our time together all an act? Were you pretending to be my friend this entire time? Was it because of Aria? Because I'm not hot and sexy? I mean, what the hell man? Why would you do this? What did I do?"

He gently pries my fingers off him and leaves without a word. First the blood sky, now this? My best friend since we were in diapers, gone? The bell rings but I don't even notice, staring at Vinny's retreating figure. My heart has shattered into a million pieces and I don't know how to piece this together. I'm good at fixing broken things, but can I fix this?

With tears in my eyes, I automatically gather my belongings and head to my next class.


	3. Chapter 2: Chaos

**Woo! Chapter 2! Thanks so much for reading! Fair warning, there's going to be some cursing and action! Though, what is a T rated fic without a bit of cursing and action? Onwards!**

* * *

The rest of the day went by in a blur. I couldn't remember anything but my body did things for me. I was on autopilot where the pilot was gone. I think I walked home this time but I can't remember. When I entered my house, I barely heard the chorus of cheers from my little siblings as they crushed me in a hug. I numbly walked past them and up to my room where I collapsed, shoes, backpack and all, onto the bed where the tears spilled. I felt a hand on my shoulder as two weights settled on either side of me.

"What's wrong Laila?" My older sister, Sophie who has brown eyes and blonde hair, asked.

I mumbled, "Vinny doesn't want to be friends anymore."

"What?" Sophie's twin brother, Shay, asked.

I lifted my head from the pillow, snot, and tears making my hair stick to my face. "Vinny doesn't want to be friends with me anymore!"

Sophie gasped. "What?! But you two have been friends since birth!"

"I know!" I cried into the pillow.

"I'mma kill that two timey, backstabbing, son of a…" Shay began but Sophie stopped him.

"No need to bring any more anger. Killing him won't solve anything. But my question is why?"

"Remember Friday night when he came over?" I sniffle. They both nod and hum in response. "The sky turned red and started trying to kill us and he thought that was a sign that our friendship over and…"

"Whoah, whoah, whoah," Shay said. "The sky turned red?"

I heard a smack followed by an "ow" as I felt Sophie's delicate fingers comb my hair. "How can he say that?" A fresh wave of tears spilled down my cheeks. "Well, there's no use crying about it. We're going out."

My head snaps to her, my tears blurring my vision. "What?!" Shay and I said at the same time.

"You heard me. We're going to the mall!" Sophie grinned.

"The mall?!" Shay groaned and fell face first onto the bed.

"The mall?" I ask in a quiet voice.

"Yeah! What always cheers me up is going out shopping with my friends."

I twiddling my thumbs. "I don't have friends...anymore." I wince. Vinny has been my only friend my whole life! People made fun of me, thought I was a freak or a witch because of my looks. " _It's unnatural to have white hair and not be an albino""It's unnatural to have yellow eyes!"_ Vinny was the only one who looked past that...until now.

"Well, you have us." Sophie gestured to Shay and herself.

I smile a bit and sniff. "What about Evan and Ella?"

"Them too. We're all going to the mall!"

"The mall?!" A pair of young voices shouted and came scampering to my room. The younger twins' names were Ella, the older twin, and Evan, the younger twin. Brown hair and brown eyes with light skin and freckles dotting their cheeks. "We're going to the mall?"

"Can we get ice cream?" Ella asked.

"Can we get candy?" Evan asked.

We all laugh. I hiccuped through my weak laugh.

"Of course," Sophie said. "Meet me in the car. I've got to get my purse."

The young twins screamed and scampered downstairs to get their shoes as Shay and I chuckled at their childish behavior. I wipe my eyes and nose with my shirt.

"And don't worry," Shay says, bumping my shoulder lightly on the way out, "I'll make sure that bastard pays." He winks.

I crack a small smile and head to the bathroom to make myself presentable in public. Washing my face with water I tied my hair into a high ponytail and headed to the car. Our parents were barely home but, it didn't matter to us. We were a group of five. It fit perfectly without our parents.

"Are we ready?" Sophie asks, popping into the passenger side.

Evan and Ella cheered while I said, "To infinity and beyond!"

Shay started the car and we were on our way to the mall. To say the ride was quiet and peaceful was an understatement. What with two 7-year-olds and two 18-year-olds mixed with an almost 15-year-old, things are bound to get hectic. The older twins started playfully arguing while the younger twins were bouncing in their seats with excitement. I smile slightly, thinking that each one of them has a born best friend while I, who was supposed to have a male twin, was a single baby. How can a family born of twins of opposite gender make a single child? It just doesn't add up. Ella and Evan, Sophie and Shay… I guess I was lucky that Vinny and I had the same birthday, with him being the oldest by a few minutes, but that's all thrown out the window now. I'm a single.

Shay parks in the parking lot of the bustling mall.

"I can't believe we're at the mall on a Monday night." I murmur.

"It's the new Friday." Sophie flashes me her sparkling grin.

We walk inside and my little siblings are practically sparkling with excitement. This mall has a few rides here and there with 8 floors that I can see clearly throughout the mall. A giant fountain spewing water with coins sits in the center of it all. Security strolls through on Segways, always alert and ready for trouble.

"Where should we start?" Sophie put a finger to her lips in a thinking manner.

"Ice cream!" Ella screamed.

"Rides!" Evan shouted.

"Movies!" Shay shouted. We all looked to him with raised eyebrows. "What?" He innocently shrugs.

"Laila, how about you?" Sophie said, making the heads of our small group turn to me.

"How about the food court? I'm starving." I suggest.

"Good idea. A little food in our bellies will do us some good."

We all head over to the food court where carts filled with fatty goodness sit. As twins usually do, Ella and Evan started fighting about which foods they wanted.

"Pizza!" Evan said.

"Burgers!" Ella replied.

"Both!" I shouted above their arguing and took both of their hands over to a random booth that had both pizza and burgers on their menu, Sophie and Shay trailing along. The line was short and we ordered, getting our meals fast.

"It's like magic!" Ella gushed as she took a big bite from her burger. A bite bigger than a girl her size could even eat.

"Magic doesn't exist," Evan replied as he picked up his pizza. When he pulled the slice away from his mouth, a string of cheese connected the two. I sighed and shook my head at the two, eating my burger as Sophie and Shay each had their own pieces of pizza.

I munched slowly, my mind wandering back to Vinny. How we'd get our hands messy with burger sauce. We'd steal each other's fries and onion rings, giggling. I feel the stinging of tears in the back of my eyes and force myself to be in the moment. _Don't think about him..._

After we ate, Evan said, "I wanna go to the arcade."

"Me too." Shay turned toward Sophie. "Can we go?" He stuck his lip out in a pout and gave her his best puppy dog eyes. I stifle my laughter. The eldest waiting for permission from his younger sister.

Sophie shook her head and sighed, a smile on her lips. "Very well. But don't get in trouble. Meet at the entrance at 7:30."

Shay whooped and grabbed Evan by the hand. "Great! Come on Evan! I've got some quarter's in my pocket!" The two boys darted off to the arcade as the girls and I burst out laughing.

"Boys, they never grow up." Ella sighed, crossing her arms and shaking her head. Sophie and I chuckled. "Now can we go shopping?"

"Yes. Yes we can." I say and take her hand as Sophie leads us to an elevator. She presses the 'up' button and we entered with a few people. The doors close behind us and she presses the 8th-floor button. We have to wait as some people got off from different floors and some people came on. I counted each time we stopped. 3 people got off and 2 came on. 2 came on. 4 left. 3 left. Soon, we're alone. I hum the chorus for _For the Damaged Coda_. When the doors open to the eighth floor, Sophie guides us to a jewelry store. I frown and look at Sophie as Ella eagerly tugs me toward the earrings.

"You plan on us shopping here?" I say under my breath at Sophie as Ella grabs a pair, places them near her ear and looks in a mirror.

"What? It's jewelry!" Sophie said.

I bite my lip. "It's just not...me. I'm practical, not decorative. Couldn't we go check out knives or guns or something of use?"

Sophie pouts. "Well, that's no fun. Come on, at least pick something out. I know you like collars." She smirks, urging me toward a necklace section that has a couple of chokers.

"These are necklaces and chokers…"

"I'll pay for it." She then skips over to whatever section she wants.

I make sure to keep Ella within earshot and where I can see her and, shaking my head, "browse" through some pieces. I picked up a necklace with a golden chain and a sapphire stone inside. This necklace reminded me of an old memory of Vinny.

We were both ten at the time and my parents were out on business again. Vinny's parent's, Mr. and Mrs. Prowler, were watching my siblings and I. Vinny was an only child, unlike me, so his house was smaller but filled with little odd trinkets here and there. We were in the living room playing a simple game of Monopoly. I heard laughing and asked Vinny what's going on. We decided to take a break and investigate. Sophie and Shay, who were 13 at the time, wanted to play video games while Evan and Ella, 2, were sleeping in Vinny's room.

We both crept up the stairs and peered into Mr. and Mrs. Prowler's room. It felt like an invasion of privacy, but we were only 10. Inside, they were getting ready for a garage sale and Mrs. Prowler held up a necklace with a sapphire gem. She smiled when she saw us and we got to see some of their old stuff. Vinny was particularly interested in some of his dad's old sailing equipment while I was invested in his mom's jewelry because it was sparkly and shiny. I distinctly remember how it felt and what it looked like.

"My mother gave it to me," she had said. "But you can have it."

"Really? But why?" I had asked.

She winked, "I have a feeling it belongs to you."

That necklace is still in a box of little trinkets in my room. _Need it?_ I have a feeling I _need_ to return it. I put the necklace back where it belongs when an explosion rocks the floor beneath me. I stumble a bit but remain on my feet. The merchandise making little _tinking_ sounds.

"What's going on?" I shout as I race towards Ella and grab her shaking figure. Tears pricked at her eyes and she looks at me with a scared expression. Sophie came barreling toward us.

Sophie looks just as surprised and scared as I was. "I-I-I don't know," she stuttered. Sophie never stutters. That's when I know something really bad is going down.

We head out of the store to see people screaming and running every which way. I peer down the railing to see 7 guys with their hoods pulled over their heads holding weapons (what kind, I don't know) and the mall cops on the ground, unmoving, a puddle of dark red pooling under them.

"We need to get out of here now!" I shout. I try to find some stairs but people's bodies keep blocking and shoving me with their elbows. I shield Ella with my body so her tiny frame doesn't get trampled. "Argh!" I scream in frustration. I look down and see one of the figures, the one in white, point up to...me? They start racing up the escalators at a shocking rate.

When I look behind me, I find my sisters are missing. I spot them about to take the escalator and sprint toward them, grabbing onto Sophie's arm. Shaking my head I point them in the opposite direction of the figures, who are on the fourth floor now. My eyes scan the eighth floor in an attempt to find an escape, finding none. Until I spot...

"The elevator!" I push them toward the two crowded elevators full of panicking shopper's, faces alight with fear. I arrived at the first but they closed the doors on us. _Bastards!_ I spot the second one's door closing and shove my hand through the opening. The doors close on my hand, eliciting a grunt of pain from me. The doors reopen and I shove Sophie and Ella in. I try to squeeze in when one of the other shoppers shouts at me, "There's no more room!" and shoved me out.

I frown at Sophie who returns the look. I look to her and Ella and say, "Take care of her." Swiftly, knowing Sophie will likely give her place to me, I pressed the first floor and the doors immediately close as I back up.

"Wait, Laila!" Sophie's cries were cut off from the doors closing.

"Now, my turn," I say and lick my lips to find an escape route. I turn toward the railing and spot they have now made it to the seventh floor. I frown and scan through the shops until I spot Big 5 Sporting Goods. I grin as I rush toward the store and quickly run my eyes over the various guns and hunting knives. At the counter, in a glass case is a Glock 17. Smashing the glass with a nearby object, I reach inside and pluck the Glock 17 out. I check the magazine compartment and find it empty. _Dammit!_

I check the store's entrance and see they have arrived on the eighth floor and it won't take them long to find me, especially with a broken glass case. The wailing alarms, which I hadn't noticed until now, should conceal any miniscule noises I make. I run to the back of the store to find ammo and find a sturdy fishing line. I grab it, a plan hatching in my mind as I grab some ammo. Loading the pistol I hide behind the counter, which gives me some coverage. The counter back here is opaque, so they couldn't see me, hopefully.

I hear them come into the store, the sound of glass crunching underfoot faint, unlike their cursing.

"Shit, where is she?" says one with a deep, raspy voice.

"How should I know?" another replies, sounding like he was going through puberty.

"She should be in here. Search the place!" Another, this time more masculine, commands. I watch as they appear with their backs turned to me to search the store. Finding this as my chance to escape and pop my head up and come face to face with a person in a black mask with red features stitched onto it.

I yelp and, on instinct, point the gun and fire. The gunshot echoes throughout the store and their heads snap to me as their friend clutches his face in pain, blood oozing down his face. I don't understand, a gunshot like that should deem him dead. But, no time to dwell on that, time to get out. Jumping from behind the counter and sprinting out from the store I hear them cuss again.

"Get her!" The commanding voice says.

 _Get out, get out, get out,_ I keep repeating to myself. I take a route toward the escalators when I see more of them come up. I mentally facepalm. _There were only three in the store idiot._ They both start cornering me in the jewelry shop I was in earlier. I swallow, seeing no other option. They are going to get me. _I hope my plan works..._

"Come with us nicely and quietly and we won't harm you." The one in the tan hoodie says. A tiny glimmer caught my eye on the waistband of his pants.

"As if!" I spit.

"Then we have no other choice." He takes out the knife and they advance slowly on me.

"What do you want with me?!"

"All we want...is you!" The one going through puberty says.

I was cornered. The only way out was…

Taking my chance, I darted up to the railing and slipped onto the other side. The guys froze.

"You want me?" I say. "Then come and catch me!" _Please let this work._ I throw myself off of the eighth floor just as white hoodie tries to grab me. With the rod in hand, I cast it toward the seventh story railing, wrapping the wire around one of the rails. _Who needs an escalator when you can have this?_ I think to myself, making sure the string keeps on coming. I drop all the way from the eighth to the third when the line runs out. I let out a cry of pain as the line suddenly jerks and it bangs me against the top of the second floor. I maneuver myself so I can swing onto the second floor. Once my feet hit the ground, I start sprinting toward the escalators that are, oddly, still working. I look up to see their stunned faces. I flip them the bird and continue toward the ground floor. I take the steps six at a time, jumping from stair to stair until I reach the bottom. I look over and see them descending from the escalator at their inhuman speed.

 _Get out, get out, get out,_ I keep telling myself as I sprint to the front doors where police officers come swarming in, guns and all. I sigh in relief as I run toward them. One of them sees me and I barrel into them.

"Thank you!" I cry out and hug one of them.

"Find the culprits!" one of them shouts.

I feel a hand on my back and look up to see the officer I'm squeezing trying to pry my arms from him. I let go, a sheepish blush forming. We make our way outside where I count 10 police cruisers with two ambulances, taking in the shaken civilians. Lights flash at me and I have to cover my eyes from being blinded. I then hear a "Laila!" from within the crowd and am pummeled by a small body. I wrap my arms instinctively around the shivering, crying form.

"It's okay Ella. I'm here." I murmur into her soft brown hair.

"I thought I lost you!" She cried.

Sophie, Shay, and Evan weren't far behind her. Evan was shaking, Sophie was crying, and Shay looked sick.

"Laila, I…" Sophie began but a sob ripped from her throat. "I-I'm so sorry. I had no idea. I…"

"It's okay," I say, holding a hand up for her to stop. "Things happen."

"But I should've been a better big sister. If I had lost you...Oh, I should've shoved _you_ into the elevator."

"I saw you…" Shay said. "Those guys...they weren't normal. They...I...Evan...I...Cops…" Suddenly his cheeks puffed and he threw up.

"Too much excitement, huh?" I smirk as he wipes his mouth. "And to think, you taught me to shoot."

"Did you shoot one of them?" Evan asks shakily.

"I did. In the face. But all that seemed to do was cause him pain."

"Of course it would," Shay said. "He was shot."

"In the face. He should've been dead. But he wasn't. He writhed but then he was up and coming after me in no time at all."

They all look at me with wide eyes.

"He's definitely not human...does that mean it's even a he?"

I shake my head in amusement. _You may be the oldest Shay, but you definitely have imaginative theories._

"So, then, what are they?" Evan squeaks. I kneel down and bring him into my arms. Normally, he would protest but we were all a little too shaken to even protest a hug.

"I have no idea," I say. "But I do know one thing."

"What is that?" Sophie asked.

"They want me."

* * *

Jeff

"Shit!" Jeff cursed as he saw her jump down with the fishing line.

"Damn. That girl's smoking hot." BEN murmurs, a look all too familiar to the ravenette in the blonde's eyes.

"How can you say that?!" Toby yelled. _Oh no…_

"What?" BEN says innocently, "She's one hell of a babe. Got us chasing her and everything."

Toby smacked BEN, earning a yelp from the Link look-a-like.

"At least _try_ to act concerned," Masky said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Did she make it down alive at least?"

Jeff leans over the railing and spots her swinging onto the second floor. "Yeah, she's alive alright," Jeff says.

The others lean over and see the girl sprinting toward the escalator. She takes a quick glance at us and gives us the swift middle finger. BEN mutters something pervertedly while Toby swears again.

"Let's just go get her." Masky grumbles as we all book it toward the escalators in hopes they could catch the girl making a break for it. They were Creepypastas, so they at least had a chance of catching her. They leaped from escalator to escalator, never breaking a sweat as they spotted her rounding the corner of the mall.

"We're never gonna catch her!" BEN shouts.

"She's probably at the cops right now," Toby mutters.

"Damn, that girl is _fast_!" Hoodie blurts.

"Then let's get outta here." Masky replies.

"Laila Moonstone. We've got some unfinished business." Jeff murmurs quietly, looking at where she just ran off to.

"Jeff!" Masky hissed, breaking Jeff from his thoughts. He looked back at where she was and smirked, following the proxy as cops started entering the mall.


	4. Chapter 3: New Friend

"Want you?!" My parents shouted in unison. We were at my house after the Mall episode. My parents had heard all about it and immediately rushed home. We all sat in the dining room and I was in the hot seat after explaining what had happened.

Dad pinched the bridge of his nose while Mom rubbed her temples. I twiddled my thumbs in shame.

"At least you're safe." Mom said as I felt arms wrap around me. I returned the hug.

"It's my fault," Sophie blurts. We all look to her. "I suggested we go to the mall. I should've been the one to push _her_ into the elevator, not the other way around. I should've been a better big sister."

I leaned over and patted her hand as she wiped at her makeup smeared face.

"You weren't a bad sister." I console. "You kept Ella safe."

"But I'm the older one! Older than you! I should've been keeping _both_ of you safe!"

I frown and shake my head. "Look on the bright side. I used that fishing line like a badass I kicked them where it _really_ hurts." They all looked at me with confused looks. "They wanted me and I'm the one that got away."

Sophie sighed. "I just can't help but blame myself…"

"I was faster than you."

"Well, I think we _all_ had an ...adventurous day," Father said, rubbing the back of his head. We all nodded in agreement.

"But how can we fall asleep after a day like today?" Evan whined.

I immediately knew what he was doing. Trying to play at that angle to stay up later. I sigh and shake my head, a small smile dancing on my lips.

"You all have school tomorrow. Better get some sleep now rather than later. So, go to bed." Father ordered.

We all grumbled and shuffled upstairs. The twins all went to their room. I was supposed to have a twin and that's why I have a room to myself. When they noticed I was an only child delivery, they didn't know what to do except make it a single bedroom. I didn't mind it too much, but on lonely nights, I sit outside my siblings' rooms. Listening in on the conversations that they would sometimes have. It would make me feel sad that I didn't have a twin myself. They were separated by girl and boy rooms when Evan and Ella came along. My bedroom was at the end of the hall and I would watch my siblings go into their rooms to sleep. Ella and Evan hugged before going into their respective rooms, which surprised me. Evan _never_ hugs his "older" sister.

 _Guess a lot of emotions had been going through Evan,_ I thought to myself. Shay squeezed his sister's arm as she was just going in. She smiled thinly at him and then closed the door. He then turned his gaze to me as I stood at the end of the hall awkwardly. I look down in sadness. I hear him shuffle towards me and he wrapped his arms around me. I squeezed him back.

"I think you can sleep in Sophie and Ella's room if you don't want to sleep alone," Shay mumbled into my hair.

"I don't think I have anything to worry about." I shrug nonchalantly. Truth be told, I would love to sleep in their room.

"Alright." He pulled away and ruffled my hair. "Good night." He then disappeared into his room.

I frowned when his bedroom door shut. To be perfectly honest, I was scared out of my wits. Those weird men wanted to take me! Who wouldn't want to sleep in the company of others? But I was more worried about Ella and Sophie. What if they find me and saw me with Ella and Sophie? Would they hurt them too?!

I didn't want to endanger my sisters and, reluctantly, entered my bedroom. My morbid thoughts turned my normally calm and beautifully lit room into that of horror. My bed is draped in darkness as the moon glowed dimly through my windows and my balcony doors eerily. The objects in my room seemed to leer at me, hiding monsters that I knew didn't exist. Pushing my fear down I crawled into my cold bed and buried myself in the blankets as if that would protect me. Closing my eyes tightly, I wished sleep would take me before the nonexistent monsters would.

It took me forever to fall asleep.

* * *

The next morning, everybody had bags under their eyes. At least I wasn't the only one who had a rough night. We all knew our parents were already at work and, like zombies, shuffled around the kitchen to grab something to eat. We all ended up eating cereal. The dining table was the quietest it has been with the exception of the clinking of glass against silverware and the sound of chewing. To say it was awkward was the least of our worries as we tried to get ready to go to school.

We all decided to skip showering for today, after all, what's one day of no shower? Shay got behind the driver's seat as we all piled in. I managed to snag shotgun while Ella, Evan, and Sophie got into the back. We first dropped Ella and Evan off at Ardor Elementary then sped off to Ardor High.

We arrived as both my siblings jumped out. I checked the time and found we had ten minutes until class starts. I blink and lean back in the seats as school yesterday came flooding back to me. The mall episode had kept my mind busy from those events and I could feel my eyes misting up. I shake my head as I try to dispel the unshed tears. _You won't cry! You won't cry!_ I tell myself as I get out. I put on a mask of indifference as I walk through the crowded halls. As I passed by their normal chatter, the students turned to whisper and gossip.

"Look at her."

"She looks...gone."

"Dead is more like it."

"I heard her boyfriend broke up with her."

"What? She was _dating_ somebody?"

"I think it was Prowler or something."

"I wouldn't be surprised. She seemed kind of...clingy."

"Ha! About time he broke up with her. She's a freak anyway."

I snapped my head around toward the voice and stomped up to him, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and brought him an inch from my face. "If you want to talk shit be about me, say it to my face instead!" I tossed him to the floor and watched him sprawl out. "Dirty bastard." I hiss in disdain at him as he starts backing away in fear. Inside, I felt oddly powerful just to watch one of my main assailants cower in front of me. Usually, Vinny would walk through the halls with me, telling the people in the halls to shut their pie holes unless they want to answer to him if they so as utter a word about me. But I didn't have him by my side so I had to defend myself.

I walked into my classroom, got my work out and cracked my knuckles loudly. Some people turned to me with weird glances as I poured myself over my studies. _No friends. No problem. People think your a freak, then get ahead of the game._ I think to myself as I flip to the next portion of our lesson. _They want to mess with me. I'll make sure they regret it._

* * *

Lunch came quicker then I had ever realized. I guess school does go by quicker if you don't anticipate the bell. I quickly gathered my things and headed to the lunch room. I caught a glance at Vinny and was about to shout to him when I realized we weren't friends. My somber mood returned and I shuffled into line, grabbing a tray. I got my food and was about to head outside when I heard giggling. Turning my head toward the sight, I nearly threw my tray.

Vinny was sitting with Aria and her Bitches as they all laughed. Aria was clinging to his arm and laying her head on his shoulder. And he wasn't caring! I grip the edges of the tray as I felt rage build up inside me. _I hope something_ bad _happens to her!_ I think with malice.

A boy walks over with his lunch full of all the foods that were messy like mashed potatoes...and dumped it all over her. The lunchroom turned abruptly to the table as Vinny reeled away from her. She shrieked in rage and quickly grabbed the scrawny boy by the throat as the lunchroom watched, amused. I don't know what came over me but I thought, _aw, hell no!_

I stomped over to them and dumped my tray on her. She shrieked in horror and turned to me, releasing the poor male in her grasp. He dropped to the ground, coughing and sputtering.

"You don't have the right strangle anybody to death," I say firmly, putting myself between the boy and her.

"Says who?"

"Says me."

A collective "oooh" goes around the lunchroom.

"What gives you the right to tell _me_ what to do?" She pushed me.

"When it involves others, then yeah."

"What about that guy you hustled earlier today?" She quirked an eyebrow.

"And I was wrong to do that."

"So who's to say defending him is wrong?" She points to the boy quivering behind me.

"Says the one who turned him purple." Turning on my heel I grabbed the boy's hand and stomped out of the lunchroom and into the back of the school where not a single student was in sight. I didn't stop until I reached a tree that was back here. This tree was my safe haven away from the rest of the school if Vinny wasn't here. I walked up to the tree and placed my arm on the trunk, slamming my head onto my arm.

"I'm so stupid!" I shout to myself.

"Umm, excuse me?" I hear a squeak.

I turn my head toward the noise and drop his hand, backing away and blabbing, "I'm sorry! I...I...uh…"

"That was pretty cool." He said.

"It...was…?"

"Yeah, um…" he rubbed the back of his head and blushed. "M-my name's L-Lucas." He stuck out his hand.

I look closely at him and find he's not that bad looking. Well, he's _normal,_ to say the least. His skin was peach color with brown freckles dusted across his cheeks, curly dark brown hair, and chocolate brown eyes. His frame was small and thin which was suggested from his hastily thrown together, baggy clothes and floppy shoes.

I smile and took his hand. "Laila Moonstone. You, really don't mind my looks?"

He shakes his head. "I-I thought you l-looked pretty cool b-but I was too n-nervous to talk to you."

I laugh. "Well, you're talking to me now. Sit," I sit down by the trunk and pat the ground next to me, "I'm not going anywhere."

He takes a seat next to me. "Me either."

"What's your favorite color?"

"Blue. Yours?"

"Gold. Like my eyes."

He laughs. We continue making idle conversation with basic questions until the bell rang.

"I guess it's time for class," I say, getting up and then offering my hand to him.

He takes it and sighs. "Yeah. I guess so."

"See you tomorrow before school? Same spot?"

"Yeah. I'd like that."

We walk into the school in silence, their laughter at me earlier today faded into quiet watching. Lucas went to his class while I went to mine. Unfortunately, this class I had Vinny. Our desks were right next to each other and to say it was awkward was an understatement. I was pissed, he was...I really don't know about him. But, do I care?

Class started and we got out our materials to begin the art class. Yes, art class. I personally didn't want to take it since I'm not an artsy person, but Vinny did and I needed some credit.

"Today we vill be creating portraits." Mrs. Spots announced in her strange accent.

I frown. I already suck at drawing. I'm a badass, not an artist.

"You vill pair up and draw your partner's vase." I think she meant "face." "And I vill pick pairs." She took out a piece of paper and started listing names. I crossed my fingers, toes, and eyes in hopes that I do not get Vinny. But as the number of kids available started to diminish, my hope died with it. "And finally Vincent Prowler and Laila Moonstone."

I stiffen as I heard my name and his name. We both glanced at each other and I turned away from him.

"Okay, get to vork!" She clapped her hands. My classmates shuffled around as they tried to find a seat next to their partner. I sighed as I started with the simple sketch which involved a circle and a horizontal line through it. I quickly sketch out his features, not once glancing at him. I've known him for so long that his image is practically tattooed inside my mind. I finish sketching and start outlining then coloring. When I'm finished drawing I place my supplies down and flip the picture over. I'm not going to look at him, even in a picture. But, I can't help wanting to change some of his features. Like graffiti it. I flip the picture over and start scanning over the drawing to see what other tidbits I could add.

Maybe a mustache and a go-T, an eyepatch, snaggletooth, devil horns… I snicker as I imagined it that way and put the picture face down.

"Okay, time's up!" Mrs. Spots said and the class turned quiet. "Turn in your portraits. Don't forget to vrite your name!"

I scribble my name on the back of the piece of paper and turn in the portrait just as the bell rings. I quickly gather my items and scurry to the next class but I'm stopped by Mrs. Spots.

"Yes?" I ask, impatiently wanting to go to my next class.

"Vhat is this?" she demands, showing the graffitied version of my drawing. I swallow hard, noticing the features drawn in black ink.

"I-I don't know," I mumble.

She sighs heavily and pinches the bridge of her nose. "Vhatever. Go to your next class." With a flick of her hand, she sends me off.

* * *

The next day, I immediately got up and quickly showered while choosing a decent outfit. Tying my hair in its usual style and scarfing down cereal. Sophie and Shay just came into the dining room as I was finishing.

"Laila?" Sophie murmured sleepily, rubbing her eyes. "It's 6:50. What are you doing up?"

I smile and shrugged. "I have a feeling it's goanna be a good day today."

That instantly woke them up and they glanced at each other.

"Since when do _you_ say that?" Shay asked.

Sophie looked confused then her face instantly brightened up. "You met someone, haven't you?"

I gave her a look that said, _as if_. "No," I reply. "Just made a friend."

Sophie let out a high pitched squeal that I swear broke Mom's fine china. She started bouncing around the dining room in euphoria. I heard the pitter patter of tiny feet as Evan and Ella appeared.

"What's going on?" A sleepy Evan asked.

Shay shrugged. "Your sister is freaking out over something."

"Ooh, is it love?" Ella asks.

"Yes." Sophie says at the same time as I say "No."

"Oh, Laila! I thought you'd never find a man without me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask, putting a hand on my hip.

"Tell me, what's his name, age, grade, looks, style, hobbies, interests…"

"I think we can do that _after_ school, Soph." Shay interrupted Sophie's endless prattling.

"Ah, true love." Ella sighed dreamily.

"It's not true love! It's not even love." I reply with an eye roll.

"It starts with meeting each other at school. Then he's going to give you gifts and then ask you on a date then ask to be your boyfriend then to be your fiance and finally you two will be married! He's the one for you!"

"What?!" I shout, nearly dropping my dishes. "Okay, we are _not_ going to be boyfriend and girlfriend. I'm good with being just friends with him. Besides, didn't you say that about me and Martin?" Martin was a crush I had when I was in 8th grade.

"Yeah, but _this_ is totally different."

"Again, you said that about me and…" I bite my lip. I can't bring myself to say _his_ name.

Shay noticed this and said, "Okay guys! Enough about talking about love and dates and stuff. We all have school. So get ready."

"Since when have you _ever_ been the boss of me?" Sophie asked Shay.

"Since now. Now, go, go, go, go!"

Everyone except me and Shay scampered out of the room to get ready. I snickered as they all left.

When I got to school, I got my butt into gear and dashed to the tree behind the school. Lucas was already there and on a tablet.

"Lucas!" I call out in excitement.

His head snaps up and a smile spreads across his freckled cheeks as he sees me running up to him.

"I had th-thought you d-ditchd on me." He says shyly, a tint of pink dusting his cheeks.

"And why would I do that?" He shrugs. "Oh well, I'm here now."

We talked until the bell rang in which I said goodbye to Lucas.

"Why are you saying bye? We have the same class."

I blink. "We do?"

He nods. "Mmhmm. I sit in the back of the class."

"Oh cool." I link arms with him and, together, we walked to class where we sat next to each other. I silently cheer in my head about having no seating arrangement.

The bell rang and students trickled in and then the teacher. The teacher, Mr. Sting, was in charge of a science health class so we always go on little field trips to "get fit and learn science." Today, he was holding pieces of paper which made me curious. Mr. Sting hates using paper unless he wants our parents to sign for something. Usually, his field trips don't require signing sheets unless it could be potentially dangerous. Seeing him with paper made me curious.

"Welcome class, today we will be preparing for our field trip tomorrow." I heard a few groans as well as some whoops as he says this: "We will be going camping!"


	5. Chapter 4: Field Trip

A small smile danced on my lips for the rest of the day. I was going camping with Lucas, my new friend. I know it seems kind of childish and naive of me, but it's kind of lonely being on your own. We both knew what it was like to be on our own and it's not pleasant. Teased, tormented, _punished_ … not being able to justify for anything you do. I guess I trust him because we connect on such a personal level, why would we give each other the same treatment we were given? Vinny was never treated like me, so his betrayal makes sense. If Lucas betrayed me, then he would be a hypocrite.

The permission is slip in my backpack as we drove back home. Sophie giggled at my behavior. I felt like I was on top of the world. I usually felt like this when I was with… But now, Lucas has my back. Shay chooses to ignore both of us and drives to Ardor Elementary. Ella and Evan came scampering back. Evan was more excited to go home while Ella started pestering me about my "boyfriend."

"Did you see your boyfriend today?" she asked.

"He's not my boyfriend and yes I did see him today," I respond.

"Ooh, what's his favorite color?"

"Blue."

"Favorite food."

"Ramen."

On and on she went. Evan groaned as he made gagging noises.

"Well isn't someone a bit squeamish." I lean back and tickle his leg.

"Ew, what? No! It's disgusting!" He makes a face.

I chuckle as Ella says, "You're just afraid of cooties!" And blew a raspberry at him.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Stop it you two!" Shay shushed them both.

"So, more about your boyfriend," Sophie said coyly.

"He's not my boyfriend!" I growled at her.

She let out a laugh. "If you say so."

"And besides, don't _you_ have a boyfriend?" I mumble quietly.

"What?"

"Nothing!"

"Oh, no. I heard you perfectly clear. 'Do you have a boyfriend,'" she mocked me, "Of course I do."

I smirk. "Oh really? What's his name?"

"Nonya."

"Last name?"

"Nonya business."

Everybody burst out laughing.

"Good one." I snort. "But seriously."

"Nope. I'm single and ready for a man."

"More like a servant." Shay snickered.

Sophie smacked the back of his head. "Quiet you single pringle!"

When we got home, I was surprised to see Mom and Dad greet us with a hug.

"Mom? Dad? What are you doing home so early?" I asked.

"Oh, sweetheart. We realized we haven't been home a lot lately and wanted to spend more time with you." Mom said.

"That's great Mom!" Sophie squealed.

"I know. I married such a smart lady." Dad said and kissed Mom.

"Gross," Evan gagged.

"So, what should we do?" Mom clasped her hands together.

"Oh, I have a permission slip from Mr. Sting for an overnight field trip," I say and start unzipping my backpack.

"An overnight field trip?"

"Yeah," I shuffle some of the things around until I find the permission slip, "to "improve our health as well as learn about nature.""

"Are you sure? You really don't go on many of these "overnight field trips."" She narrows her eyes until she smirks. "Did you meet a new boy?"

"What is with all the boy talk recently?!" I moan. "Yes, but we're just friends."

She sighs. "Well, alright." She takes the permission slip.

"Now come on. We have a lot of homework to do." Sophie sighed and tugged my hand.

"Sophie!" I cried.

She literally dragged me up the stairs and threw me onto her bed. She swiftly closed the door and threw her bag to the side, a mischievous look in her eyes. _This is going to be a while._

* * *

The next day, Mr. Stings entire class loaded onto the bus which pulled a trailer containing some of our camping gear inside. Lucas and I sat next to each other and chatted throughout the entire ride. It took four hours to reach our destination. We had already eaten our lunch because some of us had gotten hungry. We soon arrived at our destination: the forest. Pine trees towered above us and pine needles crunched under our shoes. I spied a fire pit and small grills for those who want to grill along with four picnic tables. I practically shouted out in joy because I. Love. Camping! A couple of my classmates groaned.

Once we were all out of the bus my teacher clapped his hands together. "Alright class, we will set up camp here. In the permission slip, it said we won't be back until tomorrow." Mr. Sting said. "So we all get a taste of mother nature. Any questions?"

A girl raised her hand. "Are there any outlets?"

"We're trying to _unplug_ Sarah. No, there aren't any outlets."

She let out a gasp of horror along with a couple others.

 _That's why we bring battery packs,_ I think to myself. I bought 4 of them, fully charged and can recharge any device twice. When I say I like camping, I don't spend my time on the phone. I just make sure I can contact a person in case of emergencies as well as over prepare for an overnight trip.

"Any _other_ questions?" His question was met with silence. "Good, no go get your packs and we will unload the trailer and set up camp. Break!"

We all headed toward the trailer and back of the bus. The guys who thought were macho started unloading the tents in the trailer while Lucas and I grabbed our stuff.

"Do you know how to camp?" Lucas asks quietly.

I nod. "I love camping. I go camping with my family twice a year!" I reply. "And you didn't stutter that time."

"I-I u-uh…" he stammers and looks away.

I bump him with my shoulder lightly. "Hey, be confident. We're not alone anymore. We have each other."

Lucas blushes. I think it was because a girl shorter (and younger) than him was giving him advice. When I turned back toward the buses, I noticed the boys were struggling with the tents. I rolled my eyes and went over to help them. Grabbing two single person tents, Lucas and I set up camp away from each other. Because of boy and girl rules.

"If you need any help, I'll be over there." I point to the spot where the girls will be camping.

He nods and gives me a thumbs up. I start setting up the tent. By the time I was finished, I noticed the other girls had started setting up the tents. The only problem was, they only set up the base: a tarp. They didn't put the sides up or even the wires or stakes! Most of them were tapping away on their phones or trying to look for a wi-fi signal.

"You know you're goanna have to sleep in those, right?" I call out to them. Their heads snapped up at me and sent me dirty looks. I roll my eyes and mutter, "Just saying."

I walk to one of the picnic tables and sit down, enjoying nature and basking in the afternoon sun. It was perfect. The autumn breeze blowing through my locks, the sun shining down on my beige skin and the sounds of nature...and struggling students. It was relaxing, to say at the least. I am glad I decided to join this field trip.

My mind then starts wondering to things that have happened as of recently. I frown slightly at the image of Vinny's face downcast and, dare I say...ashamed? I felt anger rising up inside me. Ashamed. Ashamed! Why the hell was he ashamed? He should be damn right _humiliated_! We've been friends since we were in diapers. We've been together during Elementary and Middle, why is High school different?

I touch my hair and sigh. Right, a freak. A freak to have white hair. A freak to have golden eyes. A freak to have all these supernatural "powers." Heightened senses? Pffft. They must be blasting their earbuds too loud and daring the sun to a staring contest. And a sixth sense of "ESP." They must also be watching too many sci-fi movies.

"Laila!"

My eyes snapped open when I heard my voice. I looked over to see Lucas waving me over. I swiftly walked over to him and asked, "What's up?"

"I need your help." He looks at me and bites his lip as he holds a part of the spine.

I chuckle. "No need to feel ashamed. You've gotten farther than some people." For emphasis, I looked over to the girls who were stumbling over each other, trying to put the spine together.

Lucas snickers. "Yeah, I've never been camping before."

I gasp in horror. "Never been camping! What life have you been living?"

"A nerdy one?"

"Nerds are just the dumb peoples' version of saying 'intellectual badasses.'"

I lift the tent part and motion for him to put the first poles through.

"Intellectual badass huh?"

I click my end of the pole in place as Lucas does his.

"It's better than 'nerd.'" I shift over and start working on the other support.

"I like it too." We snap the last pole into place, tie the tent down and dust our hands off. "There," Lucas says, gesturing with his hands toward the erected tent. "A stable tent."

I giggle. "Yeah, I wonder how the others are doing." I glance around and find some of the boys yelling at their tents while others were actually competent. When I turned to the girls' side, some of them managed to get their tents up while others were fussing over something. I highly doubt it was about the tent though.

"Should we help them?" Lucas asks.

I tap my chin in thought. "I guess."

Lucas goes over to the boys while I go over to a couple of girls shouting curses at a tent.

"You have to put the poles into the sockets and lock it into a stake," I say, picking up one of the poles.

The girls turn over to me with narrowed eyes.

"We, like, already knew that." One with brown hair, Zoey I think, said.

"So why are you fumbling with the poles then?" I ask. They stayed silent as I started taking control of their project. "That's what I thought." In no time at all, I had the tent set up. "You guys need some lessons." I caught a glimpse of their faces, pinched in distaste, as I walk over to the fire pit where Mr. Sting sat.

"So what are we going to be doing for the rest of the day?" I ask.

"Once we're finished here, we're going on a hike." Mr. Sting replied with a grin.

"What?!" a boy shrieked. I giggled a little bit.

"What's wrong with hiking?" I say innocently.

"The fact that I'm a twig and can barely traverse the halls!"

"What about me?" a girl whined. "I'm wearing high heels!"

"Didn't you read the permission slip? It said, "bring comfortable camping gear." So, suck it up."

She narrowed her eyes and flipped me the bird. I took a seat and waited for the rest to arrive. Slowly, one by one, they flocked toward us, some with sour expressions others with mild or, even, pleased ones.

"Alright," Mr. Sting clapped his hands. "Let's get hiking."

The hike was pleasant, hearing the bird songs and the occasional animal scurrying by, the pine needles crunching under my combat boots, and the soft breeze blowing through my white locks. I would occasionally hear the small whines of the girls who brought stilettos instead of sneakers. Lucas and I walked side by side in comfortable silence, a small snort escaping him from time to time as a girl falls. Soon, the sounds of rushing water fills my ears. I make a mad dash toward the sound and see a small stream going by. I kneel down by the water and place my hands in, sighing in delight as the cold water runs through my fingers.

Lucas comes and joins me, running his hand through the stream. I take off my shoes and roll up the ends of pants and wade into the water. The rest of the group joins us, giving me weird looks while others whisper about something. I shrug at them and continue just walking in the water. Lucas joins me a minute later.

"Having fun?" I ask.

"Yeah!" He says as he clutches my arm for balance.

"I'd suggest you get out before you get sick." Mr. Sting says.

"Ew, cooties!" One of the boy's snickers.

"Aren't cooties a bit childish for you? Especially since I saw you playing tonsil hockey with Alison a couple of weeks ago," I reply. He turned bright red and the others laughed at him while Lucas and I waded back to our shoes. We head back to camp just as the sun's last rays cast its glow on us. Mr. Sting starts the fire as a couple of students bring out hot dogs to eat. We were told we had to find our own roasting sticks, so Lucas and I start searching the surrounding area for one.

"Do you think this one's good enough?" I say as I pick one up.

Lucas takes the stick and runs his fingers over the surface. "Yeah, should be." I start searching for another one when he says, "Laila?"

He sounded hurt. I turn to him with a surprised look. In what little light was left, I saw his hair was covering his eyes, shoulders hunched. "Yeah? Is something wrong?"

"I just wanna know...is it true?"

I blink. "Is what true?"

"Well, Ethan told me that you were a bitch to other people and would often times call them names and beat them up. N-nerds and weaklings were y-your target."

My eyes widen in shock. "What? I've never hit anybody…" I pause. I _have_ hit people before. But they deserved it. I hit a guy back in middle school when he harassed Sophie for wearing a skirt. "I've never hit an innocent." I correct myself.

"R-really?"

"Yeah. I believe in justice and karma. Unless I want karma to come with a vengeance at me, I wouldn't dare do what you said."

"I-I just thought I'd a-ask." Lucas's hand rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm such a bad friend."

I walk over to him and wrap my arms around him. "No, your not. We just met. It's okay to be suspicious. But don't ever think I'd do that, okay?" I playfully give him a noogie.

"Ah, okay. Okay!" he laughs as he pushes me away.

"And I think I've found another stick." I pick one up and hold it out to him.

He nods. "Very nice. Let's head back to camp."


	6. Chapter 5: Second Meeting

**(A/N) Sorry for the wait. I've been busy writing another story and writing for later chapters and stuff. Trying to make it enjoyable for you guys. Anyway, on with the story.**

* * *

I crawled into my tent as the wind howled fiercely and the temperature dropped. The fire had been warm, but we'd have to get going early tomorrow if we were going to make it back to Ardorville in time. I kicked off my shoes and rolled out my sleeping bag, eager to wrap myself in warmth. Before crawling in, I layered with two extra long-sleeved shirts and an extra pair of sweatpants. I heard some of the other girls grumbling in their tents about how cold it is here or how the ground was really hard or, heaven forbid, their phone died.

 _What a tragedy,_ I roll my eyes. _Sissies can't even handle a few minutes without their phones._ Relaxing into my sleeping bag, I listen quietly for the sounds of nature. Eventually, the girls' voices die off into nothing more but a few giggles here and there. The wind whistles through the trees and the night creatures spring into action as their 'day' begins and soon, I fall into a deep slumber.

* * *

I'm suddenly awoken by the sounds of pine needles crunching. I shift in my sleeping bag, seeing it is still night. Groaning, I turn over, hoping the asshole who disturbed me is nothing more than an animal, until I hear voices.

"Do you know which one she's in?"

I freeze.

"No, dumbass. That's why we're looking for her. If we knew where she was, we would've already found her and taken her back." Another said. I recognized this guy's voice. He was the one with the white hoodie and the wide cut smile.

"Well, start checking. We have to get out of here by sunrise. Which is arriving very soon."

"Take those tents and I'll take these tents."

I hear more crunching, a pair coming towards me and the other away. _Those guys...they're back._ I hold my breath as my heart pitter-patters in terror. I hear a zipper rip away and shrieks. That surely woke everybody up. I hear more shouts and the raspy guy curse. I hear more screams and then silence. _Did he…_ I shake my head. _Focus more on trying to get out rather than what he's doing now._ I decided to stay in my tent because if I unzip the zipper, I would likely cause the guy to come after me and I'd be trapped. But if he finds me, I'd be trapped in here…

I rub my head in frustration. _This is so difficult!_ I hear more zippers unzip but no screams, instead just the pounding of shoes on pine needles. _They're running away._ I quickly put on my shoes, thankful for the extra layers to keep me warm. I hear another zipper unzip, but farther away on the boys' side, and a shriek. _Man those boys have girly shrieks._ I hear a curse from the raspy guy as his shoes crunch over to my tent. I sit in complete silence, praying he might pass over me. He walks around my tent until he stops at the entrance. His hand reaches out and starts unzipping my tent. Before I know what I'm doing, I'm crouching down and ready to spring. When the tent flap is a quarter open, I spring into his face. I shout out in surprise and anger as my nails dig deeper.

"B-BEN!" the guy under me shouts and lets out another curse.

I look over to the boys' side and see a link look-a-like over there. He turns toward me and shouts out a curse.

"I'm coming!" Elf boy sprints towards me, his red and black eyes narrowing on me.

I release Mr. Clown Face and sprint away. Away from the tents and deeper into the woods. I don't know why, but I feel the need to draw these two intruders away from the camp to make sure the others aren't harmed. Well, harmed any more than they are already.

I hear their footsteps behind me as I try and push my legs harder than they've ever run before. My clothes snag on a couple of stray branches, tearing into me. _Don't look back, don't look back,_ I keep telling myself. By this point, I've run so far away from the others that I can't see ten feet in front of me, making it harder for me to escape. I start stumbling over stray roots, rocks, and sticks but it also seems my assailants are also struggling to catch up to me.

"Haha!" I shout out in triumph until I trip over a root. I scream as I tumble onto the pine needles that get tangled in my hair and cut my face. I then see a dark figure leap out above me and I shriek again, rolling away from it. His feet land right where I was and I scramble to my feet.

"We meet again, dollface." He says, a sick and twisted grin growing.

The Link look-a-like finally catches up, panting hard. "We've caught her?" He asks between pants.

Mr. Smiley nods. "Looks like." He creeps closer to me and I dash away. I hear a loud curse and continue fleeing. Not watching where I was going, I tripped and fell into...water. I sit in the stream I was at, not realizing that the pounding in my ears impaired my sense of hearing. I should've been able to hear the stream. I sit in the freezing water, shivering like a wet kitten. My muscles have clenched together so hard from the cold that I couldn't move.

"Now, we finally have her-!" I hear the elf's voice say until he falls into the stream. I hear a shriek over to my left and see Link's look-a-like flailing in the shallow water, electricity sparking from him.

 _Odd,_ I think to myself as the elf sparks into nothing. I look up to find Smiley standing there, a frown penetrating his features. I take this chance and start getting out of the stream, snapping Smiley out of his stupor.

"That was my friend you little shit!" Smiley hissed as he jumped into the stream with me, the water not phasing him one bit.

"Gee, I'm sorry," I say sarcastically, "I'll be sure to bring flowers to his grave."

He grabs me by the throat, his nails digging into my skin. My hands fly to his arms, trying to pry him off me. His grip on me tightens and I struggle for air. Black dots spot my vision.

"You will pay for what you have done." He growls. "How does it feel, to be at the mercy of somebody else? To feel your body dying, wanting nothing more than peace."

What his words mean make my heart throb. I _know_ what it's like to feel an outcast. Dying inside because of what they can do to you...and nobody stopping it.

My hands fall to my sides as I choke on my tears and his strangling hands. He senses me relaxing and relaxes his grip so I can gulp in sweet air.

"You're lucky I have to keep you alive." He murmurs as I stay limp in his arms.

"What have they done to you?" I ask.

He blinks. "What?"

"What have they done to you?" I say, louder.

He growls and his grip tightens immediately. "None of your damn business."

That's when I realize he's angry. If he has to keep me alive, yet he hurts others when he's angry, then… "Th-they screwed up y-your face." I manage to choke out.

"What?!" He howls in rage at me. "My face is _damn_ right beautiful!"

"It's a f-face of a f-freak!"

"Take it back!"

I smirk. If I'm going down, I'm going down with amusement. "N-no."

He starts shaking me like a ragdoll in rage and throws me against a tree. I groan in pain as my back connects to the bark with a snap. I swear something broke. He stomps threateningly toward me as I lie there, gasping for air.

"You're goanna pay you son of a bitch!"

I close my eyes, waiting, accepting defeat when I hear nothing. I open one eye and then the other in awe. The sun was peeking over the horizon, casting it's orange glow on the world. Smiley stands there dumbly, staring at it. He looks to me, then the sun and starts sprinting away. I watch him leave. After a while, I stop hearing his fleeing footsteps and sag against the tree.

The birds start singing their songs, the stream's sounds finally registering to me. A strangled laugh erupts from me. It starts out more like a chuckle, then a small laugh until I'm rolling over, dying of laughter. My mind can't seem to grasp what just happened and I'm here, laughing at what could've been my death bed. But I can't stop laughing.

 _This must be what shock is like. It has to be._ I think to myself as my throat gets sore from my laughs. Eventually, I quiet down until I'm just lying on the ground and staring at the trees above me. I close my eyes and stretch my arm up, feeling the sunlight touch my skin with its warm light. I sigh in relief, giving thanks for saving my life. By the time I get up and start heading back to camp, the sunlight had already touched the ground. I trudge along quietly, making note of the mess I've made of blindly crashing through the trees on my way here.

"I must be blind," I say to myself. "If the sunrise saved me and it was dark, then there's no logic." I chuckle. "Yeah, that must be it. Blind. I must be blind. Blind of terror."

Just as I near the campsite I hear a shout. When I turn around, I'm tackled to the ground by Lucas.

"Are you alright?" he asks.

"Yeah, I'm f-fine."

"When we saw the two guys running away, we started getting a head count of who's here."

"What happened? What about those screams?"

Lucas looks away, his eyes downcast. "They were the last words they would ever say."

I gasp as my eyes moisten. "They're d-dead?" I whisper.

He just nods solemnly. "When you weren't with us, I assumed they kidnapped you. They left the dead bodies in the tents though…"

I get into a sitting position and hug him. "At least we're both safe...for now."

"For now." He hugs me back.

Unfortunately for us when we get back home, the nightmare has just begun.

* * *

Jeff

Jeff sprinted all the way back to Slender's Mansion shouting every foul curse he could think of as he entered the front. Once inside, he slammed the doors shut, turning around to face his fellow Creepypastas with scowls upon their faces.

"What?" Jeff grunts.

"You didn't get her," Masky says, crossing his arms. His black features scowling at him.

"Yeah well, Slender said to only get her at _night_. Because in the sunlight…"

"Yeah, yeah. We all know what happens." Masky waves his hand dismissively. "But, seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously?" the adolescent elf boy said as he crawled out of the TV. "Leaving me to deal with all the crappy work? _Then_ choking her nearly to death? Not cool dude, not cool."

"You almost _choked_ her to death?!" Masky screamed.

"Yeah, so what?" Jeff shrugged.

"So what? So what?! She could be…! She's important because…!" Masky growls in frustration. "Do I even _need_ to tell you _why_ we need to keep her alive?!"

"Because she could possibly be the chosen one blah, blah, blah." Jeff waves him off. "Slendy couldn't be _more_ clear. But it's still kinda stupid. I mean, how do we know for certain she _is_ the chosen one? She's slipped through our fingers multiple times. Maybe we should just give up on her."

"Give up?!" BEN gasped then narrowed his eyes. "Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?"

"Oh, come on. She's really _frustrating_." Jeff walks past them. "I'm going to my room."

What Jeff didn't want to tell them is that she somehow grabbed his interest.

* * *

 **So, I've read a story where BEN Drowned can't survive in water but reappears in electronics and stuff. So, I decided I wanted him to do that. And in Jeff's story he loved how his face looks and in the fanfiction's I've read, he is insulted if he is called ugly. Hopefully, I will get another chapter up tomorrow and that will be the end of part one!**


	7. Chapter 6: Taken

When we got on the bus, we were all shaken. Mr. Sting had called the police before we ventured out so we got on the road around 2 PM. Throughout the ride, I clutched Lucas's hand for support. The killing of three human beings, two girls and one boy, had rocked me to the core. "The two girls had their throats slit open," I heard the police say, "the words "Go to Sleep" scrawled in their blood on the sides. We also found a black substance leaking from their mouths and eyes. We're not entirely sure what it is. The same for the boy, although he was electrocuted to death."

We all sat in eerie silence, neither of us daring to breathe over the sound of the rolling bus. The trees started thinning until fields of grass spread on both sides of us. Every time, I kept thinking of the policeman's words, the sights of those freaky killers, the shriek of the elf one as he sparked to nothing in the water. Smiley's rough, leather-like hand strangling my neck, the scent of blood rolling off of him. My body shuddered, releasing a breath I didn't know I was holding. Lucas tightens his grip on my hand and I look over to him.

"It's going to be okay," he whispers quietly, giving his best reassuring smile.

I sigh heavily and tighten my grip on his hand, my frown never wavering. I know he's trying, but it's still kind of weak. _But was it weak of me to think of my own life rather than others?_

This thought stopped me. _Was I being selfish?_ _Selfish to run? Selfish to save me?_ Tears threatened to spill as I thought of how selfish I had been. _Three people are dead because of you! They were looking for_ you _! Those lives could've been saved if you had just turned yourself in!_ A voice screamed inside my head.

"Laila?" I turned to the sound of his voice. "Why're you crying?" I touch my eyes and feel the wetness staining my cheeks. I blink, trying to rid the incriminating evidence. "Please tell me." I turn away as a sob starts building up in my throat. "I'm your friend. I'm here to help." I bite my lip to keep the noise inside. He just stares at me in shock and brings me into a hug. I silently let the tears fall down, staining his shirt in my fluids. He just silently hugs me, stroking my ponytail as I just released the emotion inside. I could tell he was releasing what he held inside too because I felt something wet touch my head.

When we got back, the sun had started setting. I checked my phone and saw it was only 6 o'clock. We silently shuffled around to quickly unload. We didn't take the bloodstained tents. The police wanted them as evidence. We waited patiently on the side of the road as our parents came to pick us up one by one. My parents finally arrived and I gave Lucas one last hug before hopping into the vehicle.

Once the door closed my father said, "What happened." It sounded more like a demand than a question.

I inhale and start recounting my journey, starting with me waking up and ending with, "And it's all my fault." The tears spilled as I sobbed uncontrollably in front of my parents. This shocked them both. I was usually a strong person. The one who never cried but not because I didn't have emotions, rather I redirected them into something more useful rather than wasting them on something senseless. Crying was something senseless to me. But now, what could I redirect my emotions to? The killers? I couldn't, they were looking for me.

"Oh, honey," Mom soothed as she leaned back and patted my shoulder. "It's not your fault. It was those awful sons of bitches who killed your classmates."

"But it was _me_ they wanted! And all I could think about was saving myself. I...I'm an awful person."

Mom frowned. "It's perfectly normal to think about one's self in emergency situations. It's a survival instinct."

"But, but, but I…" She put a finger to my lips, effectively shutting me up.

"It's not your fault." She said sternly. "Now if you don't get your head out of your own butt, then you're going to get crap all over it. The sooner you stop blaming yourself, the quicker we can find them and put a stop to their evil deeds."

I nod dumbly, stunned by her words. My tears stopped and I lost my will to cry. It felt like my body was hardening and I'm not certain whether I like it.

We arrived at the house, my parents carrying my bags as we entered. I heard gasps and footsteps as my siblings came crashing through the hallway.

"Laila!" they cried and crushed me into a hug.

"We heard about what happened! Are you okay?" Shay said

"It's awful! They didn't hurt you, right?" Sophie cried.

"I-I hate them," Evan said shakily.

Ella just cried into my shirt.

I patted them all, trying to assure them I'm alright, massaging the area where _he_ gripped my neck. I was amazed that there was no bruise.

"Kids!" Dad shouted. "Move away from the doorway and we can talk about this in the living room."

This made everyone shuffle over to the living room and take a seat. Mom and Dad sat on the loveseat, the two sets of twins sat on the couch and I sat in the easy chair. All eyes turned to me, some fearful, some worried, some sad, and, yes, some angry.

"I'm sorry," I murmur, not sure of what to say.

Shay, who was the closest to me, squeezed my leg. "It's okay. Nobody knew this was going to happen. Especially since…"

"It should've been obvious."

"Well, um, it's interesting that they are still coming after you. And at such a distance…" Sophie trailed off.

"That just tells us they're determined to get to me."

"Well, we're not going to let them have you!" Evan said bravely, puffing out his chest and putting his hands on his hips.

"Thanks, but, you should've seen them. They were like something out of a horror movie."

"Then all the more easy to kick their as-butts!" Shay corrected himself as Mom and Dad glared at him. No cussing in front of the 7-year-olds.

"Yeah!" Evan chorused.

"Will big sissy be gone?" Ella asked shakily.

I get up and wrap my arms around her, saying, "Of course not. Big sissy isn't going anywhere."

A knock on the door made us all jump. Dad got up and we heard the door opening. The sound of stomping boots on wooden floors came and I turned to them. They were dressed in what looks like SWAT uniforms. I raise an eyebrow as the go around the couch to face us.

"Miss Laila Moonstone, you're coming with us." One of them said as he grabbed my arm.

"What?" I uttered in surprise as the second guy grabbed my other arm.

"What do you mean she's going with you?" Mom stood up and got right into the man's face.

"Miss, your daughter has just witnessed three murders that are possibly related to her. It is wise that we take her to a facility that can keep her safe until these criminals are dealt with."

"You're the witness protection?" Sophie blurted as she examined the guys.

"Yes. Now, please don't disturb us."

"But…" Ella whimpered as Dad held her.

I looked at her and gave her a small, reassuring smile. "I'll be okay."

"But I don't want you to go."

" _I_ don't wanna go but…" I sigh, "if it's for everyone's safety...then I have to."

"Will we ever see you again?" Evan asked

I shrug. "Of course!" I put on a brave face for the littles. "I'll be back when you get older." Of course, I was lying. I just didn't want them to be worried.

"It's time to go." The first guy yanked on my arm.

I look back at my family one last time and said, "Goodbye!" before I'm hauled off to their vehicle. It was a regular armored transport truck with flashing red and blue sirens and the words _WPP_ printed on the sides in bold, white letters against the vehicle's dark exterior. The two men proceeded to nearly toss me into the back where two other soldiers sat on either side of the vehicle, guns in their hands. I sit down in between them as the door slams shut, leaving us in faint light coming from the bulb above. I heard the front doors of the vehicle open and slam shut and the engine rev up as we begin our journey to God knows where.

I turn my head in the direction of my house and whisper a final goodbye as the vehicle lurches forward. The ride was tense with silence as any noise besides the vehicle and our breathing made them aim their guns. I was almost afraid to sneeze or cough for fear they would fire on me. I don't know how long it has been when the vehicle comes to a sudden stop. The tires squeal as I hear multiple thuds as our bodies collide with the walls.

"What the hell?!" One of the soldier's shouts as he aims his gun around. I hear screams and gunshots and wince. _Was that scream even human?_

I hear muffled voices outside when the door suddenly flies off and standing there is...five men whom I've recognized. These five men were from the mall. The cops aim their guns and bullets start flying at the creeps as they dodge for cover. The one with the black and red mask pulls out his gun and pops one at the cops, missing by an inch.

I gasp and get down as this fight has gotten deadly, trapped between two deadly weapons. Escaping would mean death, but so would staying. The two soldiers started walking toward the doors as they reloaded and I took my chance to look for an escape route. _There has to be an escape route!_ I scramble around trying to find anything to escape when more gunshots sounded. When I looked up, one of the soldier's was slumped in a puddle of blood while the other was holding his own hand where blood gushed from both sides. My heart thudded when I realized that these guys had the firepower to go through a human.

"We just want the girl." The raspy voice hissed.

The soldier narrowed his eyes as he stepped further out of the vehicle. I closed my eyes and turned away, already knowing the outcome. I heard the sound of stabbing and a _thump_. When I look back up, the one with the white mask was in front of me, his gun in his waistband, and grabbed me. Too stunned, I just let him carry me as I passed by the dead bodies of the soldiers'. As I passed by, I noticed that their fluid wasn't a dark red but black, like tar. _What's with all this black blood?_ I gasp in surprise as I'm yanked from the vehicle.

The killers slammed the vehicle doors and dumped the bodies off to the side of the road haphazardly. My mind finally snaps back to reality and I yank hard on the white masked killer. Surprised by this sudden action caused him to stumble a bit as I broke free. Taking no time for him to recover, I kicked him in the back of the knees, making him collapse and started booking it toward town. _Maybe somebody could help me._

The other killers noticed this and five pairs of footsteps chased after this girl on the outskirts of town at night. I screamed, hoping someone would notice and come to my aid. I'm suddenly tackled to the ground and warm liquid spurts from my nose from the impact. The guy pinned my head to the asphalt as I struggled to get up.

"Well aren't you a pain in the ass." The raspy voice spoke close to my ear. He must've been the one that strangled me!

"So, do we take her back conscious or…" The voice of Elf boy said.

"I thought I killed you…" I mutter.

"Can't get rid of me that easily, sweetcheeks." I could practically hear the smirk in his voice.

"Bring her unconscious. She'll be a nuisance if we try to bring her awake." The white masked man spoke.

"I'll do the honors." Elf said and I heard joints popping. "You've met a terrible fate, haven't you?"

Wires latched onto my neck and electricity coursed through my body as Smiley released me. I screamed in pain as my muscles spasmed from the sudden contraction before passing out.

* * *

Jeff

Laila passed out from BEN's electric shocks and he retracted his wires.

"Now what?" BEN asked.

"Now, we take her back," Jeff replied, going over to the girl's limp form and hauling her over his shoulder. BEN poked her in the head.

"You didn't get away that easily," he smirked. Masky whacked BEN, earning a yelp of pain from the blonde elf. "What? Just saying."

"Come on, let's get her back to the mansion," Masky said. "She's the last one."

"Q-quite a fiesty one. But so was that Lucas kid." Toby said, twitching from time to time.

"That's because he was always with her!" Jeff snapped. "This girl has caused us a lot of troubles. If I hadn't caused a rift in her and that boy,- what was his name?"

"I think it was V-Vincent."

"Oh, yes! Vincent! If I hadn't caused a rift in her and Vincent's," Jeff snickered, " _friendship_ , I don't think we would have caught him. Very resourceful if I do say so myself."

BEN rolled his eyes. "Sure."

Jeff glared at him. "Let's just get back home."

The group of five sprinted back to the Slender mansion, all the while Laila bounced against Jeff's shoulder as he ran. Being Creepypastas definitely had its advantages. When they arrived, EJ changed her into some simple pajamas, being the only other Creepypasta that wasn't shy or perverted to do this. He gently laid her on her bed and closed the door.

"Everyone should be waking up soon," EJ muttered.

"Great," Masky said. "Let the tournament begin."


	8. Chapter 7: Welcome to the Tournament of

**(A/N) WAH, so sorry for not updating in a while! Here's another chapter.**

* * *

 **Part II Tournament**

My eyes flutter open and I find myself in a strange room. Sitting up, I glance around until a sharp pain in my head made me lay back down and groan in pain. I rub the spot, which seems to be sore and turn onto my side. On the bedside table was a simple lamp, a glass of water and a bottle of ibuprofen. I blink in surprise until everything comes flooding back. I feel my cheeks burn with indignation and reject their offer of painkillers and some water. It could be some unknown drug for all I know. Sitting up slowly I take a better look at the room. The room has golden walls and the furniture in the walls contrast nicely with a dark blue color. The handles are colored white to add a bit of an accent to the entire thing. My dark blue sheets were made of silk with a plush golden pillow and white sheets that caressed my body. I scowl at the luxury given to me.

Getting up, and putting a hand to my pulsing head, I stumble to the bathroom which I find is attached to my room and has the same color scheme. Golden walls, dark blue floors and counter, and white accents. A fluffy dark blue towel sat on the white towel rack which reflected in the mirror hanging above the dark blue basin. White faucets and handles gleam back at me, promising water to quench my thirst and soothe my aching head. Giving in, I turn the handles and a steady stream of clean water pours out. I cup my hands and fill it with water, then bringing it to my lips as I slurp it eagerly. After a little bit, I shut off the water and the pain in my head lessons to a dull throb. I walk back into my room as a loud knock makes me jump.

"Get up and get dressed!" an unknown male voice shouts. Before I have a chance to respond, he walks off. I furrow my brows in confusion and look down.

I gasp in surprise as my attire from yesterday was replaced with a white, golden, and dark blue colored pajamas are wrapped snugly around me. _What the hell? How did I…?_ Shaking my head, I crawl back into bed, ignoring the strange voice's demand when I hear a loud _bang!_

"Get dressed otherwise I'll come in there and do it myself!" Raspy voice threatened. The threat sent me into a flurry of motion as I threw open the armoire doors, finding only one thing: a gi. Confused, I slowly slip my pajamas off and leave them on the floor as I slip the gi on. The gi was golden in color with a couple of dark blue highlights on the sleeves, collar, the hem of my shirt, bottom pant legs and the bottom of my shoes. I quickly retie my tangled hair into a high ponytail and open the door where Smiley meets me. I nearly jump and slam the door in his face when he reaches a bleach white hand and yanks me into the hall. Without a warning, we're practically jogging down the halls and down a flight of stairs where I'm confronted with, what looks like, the main foyer. A set of beautiful dark oak, double doors with golden handles stood elegantly, inviting me to open them. Absentmindedly, I drift toward the doors until a yank brings me out of my stupor.

"You aren't escaping that easily!" Raspy growls and he drags me to the room on the left side of the stairs. In this room were four sets of dark grey couches sit and a couple of cameras are strategically placed about the room. A few people were sitting on the couches stiffly, wearing the same gi as me except with different colors. Smiley throws me unceremoniously onto the couch and harshly tells me to stay here or he'll slit my throat. The other people, three boys and one girl, tense in fear and the girl suddenly breaks down in tears. I, on the other hand, puff my chest out as he leaves and glare at him. _He can't tell me what to do!_

Soon enough, other people come down wearing different colors until there were 16 teenagers ranging from fourteen to seventeen sitting on the different couches. The last two to come down were Lucas and, to my fury, Vinny-er Vincent. Lucas was wearing a black gi with a sky blue accents. Vincent wears one in green with a midnight blue accents. Vincent takes the seat farthest from me while Lucas sits on the edge of the couch I'm on.

"Do you know what's going on?" I whisper to him.

Lucas shakes his head. "I don't know. Were you taken too?"

I nod. Suddenly, eight people enter. Smiley, Elf boy and white mask were among them. A tall, paper white, slender being that stands, at least, eight feet tall wearing a black suit and tie and no face nods to the white masked man. White mask goes over and flips a switch on the camera and a red light turns on. Smiley steps in front of the camera and, impossibly, grins wider than the cut one.

"People of Earth," he announced loudly, "you have probably heard of us. Seen us or," he chuckles, "know someone who has been _killed_ by one of us. Today my colleagues and I have sixteen teenagers we have taken from various countries and brought them here. You won't find us, for we are not part of your world. Now you might be thinking, why the _hell_ we have taken all these random people and brought them here in weird clothes. Let's just say…" he snickers, "they serve some sort of purpose.

"We've noticed you _humans_ enjoy drama." He draws out the word 'humans.' "So today, we have here a tournament. A tournament so each and every one of you flesh bags full of bloody hatred and damned f-"

"Okay, that's enough Jeff!" White mask harshly cuts off Smiley, Jeff's, little rant and pushes him off the camera's view. "What he was trying to say was…" White mask took a deep breath. "We've created a fun show for you to watch. We've taken these humans because we believe they hold some sort of... _power_ , if you will. The winner is the one that holds that power and we _need_ it. There will be eight contests that each and every one of us," white mask gestures to himself and the cameraman turns the camera to the rest of the freaks in the room and then turns it back to him, "have designed especially for them. Two people will be eliminated from each competition until two go head to head in the last competition that was designed by the Slenderman himself to determine the special one. Now you may be wondering, what _is_ this tournament about? Well," he chuckles, "welcome to the Tournament of the Muse!"

The air suddenly gets tense as none of us 'competitors' look to each other for an explanation.

"Let the tournament, begin!" With a flourish, the camera blinks off.

"Was that live?" a girl asks.

White mask snaps his head in her direction. "Yes."

"Yeah, it's going _viral_!" Elf boy states and shows a phone screen to his friends who murmur their pleasure.

"Now, let's get these...Contestants ready for the first round." White mask walks off with the others and we are left alone in the room.

Suddenly, a girl breaks down crying and the chaos starts. Words of anger, fear, determination, and any other emotion I cannot name spew through their mouths as we're all trying to sort out what the hell just happened. I turn to Lucas who has a blank look on his face. I nudge him.

"What are you thinking?" I whisper.

He turns to me and whispers, "The first round. I...I'm afraid we won't make it."

"Why? You want to win?"

"No. I don't wanna _die_."

We lapse into silence and, one by one, we're dragged from the room. Some people willingly went, others wept, or put up a fight. Lucas stumbled when he was taken until I was the only one left in the room. I squeeze my hands into fists when the lights suddenly went out and covers slammed over the windows, leaving me in pitch black. I try to get my eyes to adjust to the darkness when a voice overhead rang throughout the house.

"Dear Tournament Contestants," came Jeff's raspy voice, "this is the first round. You can either run, hide, or fight. It's up to you. Find your own weapons which are hidden around the mansion. Goodluck, you have five minutes before I start hunting." The voice crackled out.

Despite being in the dark, I fling my body off the couch and blindly start crawling around the floor. _If I want to have a chance of survival, I need to get out of this room._ I hear a thud from upstairs and assume it was a contestant. My hands feel around me for anything that could help me see when I felt something cylindrical. I run my hand over it and feel it is a flashlight! _I thought there were only weapons...Oh who cares?! It means I can see!_ Flicking the light on I have to decide whether I want to go upstairs or stay on the main floor. Maybe I can get on the roof! I decide to run upstairs, the light guiding me. I hear bangs and thuds all around me, presumably from the others. A boy runs past me in an attempt to find a safe place, a kitchen knife in hand. I keep running until I reach the end of the hall where a shuddered window sat. The shutter was made of wood, so punching it isn't an option.

"Two minutes!" Jeff sang over the speakers.

I use my flashlight to try to find something to break the window, getting an idea to search the rooms. I slam into each room, which was unlocked surprisingly, and search through the drawers and armoires for anything before going into the bathroom. My gaze falls upon a silver towel rack. Setting the flashlight on the counter I grab the towel rack and yank hard.

"One minute!"

It finally gives way and splits from the wall. Sprinting out of the room, I smash the towel rack onto the wood, which creates a small hole for me to escape.

"Thirty seconds!" He says with apparent excitement.

I smash through the glass on the other side and squeeze into both. I could feel stray pieces of wood and glass scratch at me as I squirm out. When I look out, I see the roof just above my reach. Leaning out, I grab onto the edge of the roof when…

"Five…"

I pull my legs from the glass.

"Four."

I am hanging by the roof and look down, seeing the fifteen or twenty-foot drop awaiting me.

"Three."

I hoist my upper body up onto the roof.

"Two."

I struggle to pull the rest of my body onto the roof.

"One."

I manage to scramble onto the roof when, "Zero! Ready or not here I COME!"

The roof was slanted so I carefully picked my way up to the very top where the two slants meet and straddle it like a horse. He could come from any direction for all I know. Maybe he would know where to find me. _No, he does know where to find me!_ I left an obvious trace and left my only weapon back in the mansion. I mentally facepalm at how stupid I am. Of course he's going to go upstairs and find the smashed window and find me. And the only way out is down. But...I could use this to my advantage… I could push him off the edge.

The wind blows fiercely out here, slapping my cheeks as if to punish me for a stupid idea as to come out here. The gi, thankfully, keeps the wind out so only my face suffers. My hair whips in the wind and sometimes in my face. The sun is setting, telling me it is about to be night. Blinking, I turn away and try to listen for sounds inside the mansion. Unfortunately, the wind prevents me from hearing whatever is going on inside the mansion so, I have to brace myself and wait until this first round is over.

* * *

The sky turns to night, making the temperatures drop harshly. I soon see my breath as I breathe, the stars and moon illuminating my shivering figure through the leafless trees. The gi was warm earlier, but at night, it just keeps the wind out, not the temperature. I want to huddle into a ball to preserve core body heat, but I'm afraid of falling off the roof, so I just grit my teeth and suck it up. I rub my hands together and blow into them, trying to warm them up. This gi did not come with gloves. I look up at the moon and guess it's nearly seven or something. _How long does this round last?_ I question. I close my eyes as I try to pretend I'm one with the cold. One of my teachers always said that feelings are only a product of the mind. I never took her seriously, but I might as well try. It's hard to do what she says but I take in a deep breath and let it out.

After a little while, I feel a hand grasp my arm. I gasp and my eyes snap open, about ready to punch the idiot who dared come up here when…

"Don't punch! Don't punch!" Lucas says, raising his hand above his head. The moonlight was behind him, shrouding his features in shadow.

"Oh, Lucas. What are you doing out here?" I lower my fist and look at him questioningly.

"It's over. I came looking for you."

I blink. "For how long? How did you find me?"

"Just an hour ago."

"What?!" I exclaim. "So I've been freezing my ass off for nothing?!"

"It took a while to find you though."

"A while?" I say in disbelief. "Did you not see the smashed window?"

"Oh, I did. I just didn't know if it was you. I thought you would have hidden in your room, like me."

I facepalm and sigh. "Yeah… Let's get off this roof."

We scooted carefully down to the edge of the roof. I turn around and grasp the edge of the roof firmly despite my frozen fingers. I swing one of my legs down to try and feel the hole. It takes me a couple of tries but I finally manage to slip one leg in, then the other. I inch myself as far as I can into the hole before letting go. I frown when I find only my midcalf could only get in. I take a deep breath and then let go of the roof, shooting for the edge of the glass. My fingers curl around the edge of the hole and I wince as it breaks the skin. Nevertheless, I scoot further in until I'm safe. Lucas is right behind me and I help him get inside. Once we both are on solid ground inside, I notice the lights are on, the shudders, except for the broken one, have retracted back to wherever it came from. A man with a blue mask, black eyes dripping with, what appears to be, tar, and a dark grey hoodie marches up to us.

"So who did this?" He gestures toward the broken hole.

"I did," I say immediately and block Lucas from saying anything. He isn't the scariest person I've seen here.

He's silent for a bit and we just stare at each other. Finally, he says, "Dinner is downstairs. Lucas go. Laila, come with me."

Lucas and I exchange looks.

"Ya know, I can go with you." He murmurs to me.

I shake my head. If I'm going to be punished, he shouldn't be there to see me. "No, go ahead. I'll join you."

Lucas looks at me, then at Blue Mask before hesitantly walking toward the stairs. When his body left our sight, Blue Mask turns to me.

"Let's get you cleaned up." He says and takes my arm, leading me downstairs.

I hear the scraping of utensils on dishes and chatter coming from the dining room. I assume the rest of the competitors were telling each other what happened. We make a full 180 and head _underneath_ the staircase and down another set of halls. We finally come to a door which opens to reveal a little doctor's office. He points to the operating table and I hesitantly take a seat. Silently, he moves around and grabs hydrogen peroxide, a cotton swab, tweezers, and gauze. Grabbing the tweezers, he picks at glass pieces and splinters stuck to my skin. I bite my lip to keep from screaming out in pain as the shards refuse to come out of my skin. After that, he then pours the peroxide onto the cotton swab and rubs it across my cuts then wraps them in gauze.

"Done. Now go eat." He gestures to the door.

I don't need to be told twice and scurry out of the room. When I get to the dining room, Lucas jumps from his seat and fiercely wraps me in a hug.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you? What did that asshat do to you?!" He grabs my face and looks for any unusual marking.

"Yes, I'm fine. He didn't hurt me just...patched me up." I respond, gently taking his hands from me.

Lucas sighs in relief. "Good. Now let's eat."

He grabs my hand and drags me over to a spot that has two seats. One seat has a mountain of food on its plate while one has little bites taken out of it. He gestures to the mountain and I take a seat. I wearily eye the food which was mashed potatoes with dark brown gravy poured on it. A baked potato split into fourths with a piece of butter sits in the middle, a side of green beans and some sparkling water in a champagne glass.

"So what happened to you?" a girl across from me asked. She wears a hot pink gi with golden highlights. Her hair is strawberry blonde with crystal blue eyes boring into mine.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

She gestures to the table. "We've all been here for an hour and _you_ just got here. Where the hell were you?"

I point up. "The roof."

She coughs, from laughter or from shock I do not know. "Excuse me?"

"I broke a window and climbed onto the roof." I grab a fork and start digging into my buttered potato.

She blinks and laughs loudly, sounding exactly like a hyena. "Really?" she sneers. "What absolute _fun_!"

 _Oh, you're one of those girls, huh?_ I narrow my eyes at her.

"That's really _stupid_." She continues. "I mean, I…"

I tuned her out and continued eating.

When everybody finished dinner, the "hosts" escorted us to the living room. Cameras were turned off and the room was rearranged so that all the sofas faced toward a TV. Jeff gestured for us to sit and we immediately obeyed, not wanting to get on his bad side. In no time at all, the lights dimmed and the TV glowed, a circle with an X over it flashed on screen and the introduction from this morning played. _So this is how it's going to be._ From the corners of the room, I could see myself staring into the camera with a death glare that I didn't know I was giving. The video soon ended and the regular news came on.

"This, folks, was broadcasted nationwide across the globe. Scary to see your children taken, locked in a room, and forced to play their sick twisted game. A little while after another video came out." The newsman said.

Another video replaced the new room and a closeup of the white masked man appeared, his black feminine lips very pronounced. "Ladies and gentlemen," he said, "we are going to be kind to all of you. As much as we wish you all to just watch, we also wanted to see how the human population can tip the scales on the winner. The muse will still win, but maybe they could use your support as they go through the challenges we have planned." The white masked man disappeared and sixteen headshots of all of us appeared on screen with our full names underneath. "We can't wait to see who you vote for." With that, the video clip ended and the newsman reappeared.

"Well, it certainly seems view participation is _certainly_ required. We have recently found the poll but only _fourteen_ remain now! The video of the gruesome deaths will not be played for the younger audience but we do know that Isabella MacClinclain and Joseph Salivester are out of the tournament. Such a sad loss for two young, promising lives. This is the LNN, signing off." The TV turned black.

We all sit there in quiet silence for a while, not sure of what to do until Jeff spoke up.

"This is the late night news report of our recent broadcasts. As you all know now, Isabella and Joseph were the unlucky losers. Will you be next? That's a question you all will have to ask yourselves. Gifts will be outside your door the next morning. Hope you receive something _worthy_. We will play the late night news every single night after the broadcasts. Good night."

They then escorted us to our rooms, doors slamming shut as each contestant got dropped off at their rooms until it was only Vincent and I left. I entered my room, which was on the right, as Vincent entered his across from me.

 _They put me across from this bastard?!_ I think bitterly before slamming my door closed. I quickly changed out of my gi and unceremoniously dropped it to the floor. Someone would pick it up, right? Putting on a nightshirt that was in the armoire, I slipped it over my form. The edge of the nightshirt fell below my knees, so I didn't worry about pants and crawled into bed. Surprisingly, I fell right to sleep.

* * *

Jeff

"So who do you think will win?" BEN said, turning to Jeff as the corkboard of all the contestants stood before them. The headshots and a brief sticky note of their personality, likes, dislikes, and talents of the contestants displayed. They had already taken down Isabella and Joseph, dumping them in the trash as if they were nothing more than an old note.

Jeff shrugged. "I dunno. How can you tell? The muse could take on any form! It could be this one," he points to an athletic looking contestant, "or this one," points to a scrawny one, "any one of them really! I can't just...choose!"

"Jeff's right," Masky said as he gazed up at the corkboard.

"B-but it still could be fun to guess!" Toby chimed.

"Yeah!" BEN piped as EJ rolled his eyes. "What do you think Slenderman?"

The tall faceless being gazed at the board, deep in thought. "If you want, but I'm not choosing."

"Oooh!" Sally, the little brunette girl of 7-years, sparkled as she stared at the corkboard. "Then I choose...This one!" She gestures to a girl who was 14-years-old and looked very childish named Amirah James.

Jeff rolled his eyes. "Then I guess we're doing this." Slipping a permanent marker out from his hoodie pocket, he put an 'S' next to Amirah's headshot. "Anybody else?"

"Oh, I choose this one," BEN smirked, pointing to a blonde girl with a lot of makeup one with the name Janice Dellia. "She's smokin' hot." Jeff stuck his tongue out but wrote 'BD' next to Janice's headshot.

"I-I'll take h-him." Hoodie, the shy boy, pointed toward the nerd Lucas Whickham. Jeff wrote down an 'H' next to his headshot.

For the next few minutes, all the Creepypastas, including the pets, Smile Dog and Grinny Cat, specifically picked a contestant until only one remained. "Who do you want?" Jeff turned toward Lui, his older brother.

Lui gazed around the faces and picked a boy that was average. Jeff wrote his initials next to the headshot and capped the marker.

"There," he declared. "The Pasta who's chosen contestant doesn't die, wins the competition and will train the muse." They all nodded in agreement. "Except for Sally." He kneels down to her. "But you can pick her mentor."

"Yeah!" Sally cheers, throwing her ghostly arms up. "This will be so fun! I have a great idea for a round!"

"I'm sure we'll use it." He smiles sweetly at the little girl. "Now, go to bed."

She giggles and runs off as everybody disperses. A chill suddenly crawled up his spine and he took his knife out, ready to attack an intruder. When he found he was all alone, he shrugged it off, not knowing the danger that lurked.

* * *

 **(A/N) Can you guess who chose Laila?**


	9. Chapter 8: Fears

**(A/N) Sorry I've been gone a while. Finished up school so now I can focus more on the story, yeah!**

* * *

I wake up to my door being pounded again. This time, I think, it is the adolescent, blonde, elf boy screaming at the top of his lungs. Thud after thud resounds until it reaches mine and then starts making its way back. I groan and slip my nightshirt off, letting hit the floor. I noticed that my gi was missing from the floor, so some maid or something came in here at night and took my clothes. The more I think about it, the creepier it sounds so I stop. I should be grateful that someone picks up my clothes, but...the invasion of privacy that someone came into my room while I was vulnerable sends chills down my spine.

I open the armoire and find the gi on the floor had been hung up. I press my fingers to the fabric, noticing it has been cleaned while heat still radiating from the fabric. _So it has been recently washed and ironed…_ I take out the gi, get dressed then open the door. I find a medium sized package in front of me. Curiously, I take into to my room, eager to open it but remember I have to head downstairs. On the way downstairs, the hosts line the hallways, watching. I make sure to tilt my chin up and square my shoulders to show I'm not afraid of them. We are led to the dining room where a breakfast buffet is set. Every imaginable breakfast item is neatly placed on plates in the middle of the table. Some of the other contestants have already sat down and started eating.

I took a seat and served myself just as Lucas enters and takes a seat next to me.

"This looks delicious." Lucas says, licking his lips and grabbing a spoonful of scrambled eggs.

I nod and silently chew on a piece of bacon. To my surprise, it tastes like the best bacon I have ever eaten in my entire life. _Not bad for a bunch of freaks._ I think. When I have eaten my fair share, the door opens again to reveal Vinny, who stares at the food in disbelief. I roll my eyes and pretend not to notice him, but my heart beats erratically in my chest. I'm still butt hurt about his betrayal.

After breakfast, we all file into the living room and sit quietly. Nothing happens. Nobody dares talk for fear they would die first. The air thick with anxiety.

Suddenly, the camera glows its red color and the elf boy leaps out from the camera. A good few of us jump and scream, including me.

"Good morning humans," the elf boy sings. "I'm BEN and today we're goanna see who is not goanna die of fear!"

"Fear?" I whisper to Lucas, who sits next to me on the couch this time.

"Yes, fear!" BEN throws his arms up in the air like he is celebrating. "We're goanna put these little humans under their _worst_ fears and see if they survive. Will they die? Will they live? Who knows! Let's get started."

When he turns toward us, I see his red eyes glow dangerously. Fast as lightning, wires shoot from his fingers and latch onto a piece of our skin. My eyes widen in surprise as his wire goes straight for my throat. Without thinking, my hands reach out and grab at the wire. I pull backwards, which makes the blonde male stumble in shock. Electricity starts flowing from the wires as he grits his teeth. I immediately let go and watch him fall to the floor with the sudden momentum. I hear screams as the other contestants get shocked and watch them fall limp, unconscious. I turn my main focus to BEN, running over and kicking him in the side. He catches my foot and sends a jolt of electricity through me. My mouth opens and a scream rips from my throat as I feel the voltage run through my body. Black dots spot my vision as my clenched muscles make me collapse to the floor. I then feel a kick in my side, not flinching because of my muscles.

"She's unconscious." BEN states as I feel another kick.

"Are you sure?" one of the males, blue mask I think, asks. I see black shoes in front of my vision and a gloved hand in front of my face. "She's still conscious."

"What?! How?!"

"I dunno. But I do know she can feel pain. She will be the perfect test subject. Awake of course."

I can't move but the blue masked man lifts my face to him. I sense he could tell I was scared as he says the last words. He drops my head, making it thud against the floor. I groan out in pain. No use in pretending anymore. I hear feet shuffling and equipment moving, wires noisily being shifted around. I hear some machine, the size of a laptop maybe, being placed by my head. A couple of things are plugged together and a click as the machine hums to life. I feel a hand wrap around my chin, making me face the blue masked guy again, this time he holds a syringe with some sort of blue liquid inside. A gasp escapes between my closed lips as I feel his 'eyes' bore into mine. Despite being eyeless.

"You'll only feel a pinch." He states. I feel patches attach to my forehead, back of the neck, back, arms and legs. "Good luck." He sticks the needle in my neck and pushes the plunger down. I feel the liquid flow into my bloodstream. My heart thuds in my chest, making the serum spread across my body faster. This thought makes me panic more and my heart beats faster. I hear the machine start beeping wildly until, all I see is black.

When I come to, I find myself surrounded by mirrors. Confused, I reach a hand toward one of my reflections when a loud _bang_ makes me jump. I stumble and crash into the mirror and it shatters the glass. I stumble away from the broken pieces as my broken reflection stares up at me, wide eyes filled with terror. I take a deep breath and crash into another mirror, glass showering on me again. I jump around to face the broken mirror and find a glass maze ahead. I blink, trying to confirm what I already see. This glass was not like a mirror, though nonetheless annoying. Stepping over the glass with my shoes and move into the glass maze. I frown as I touch my fingers to the glass. When I lift my fingers, I see no fingerprints have left a stain on it. _This is one weird maze._

I turn around and find the mirror I had smashed to get in here was gone and only more glass to see. I decided to just get this over with and smash through the glass. The mirror glass didn't hurt me, so how can this? Bumping my back against one of the walls, I take a sprint and throw my full weight at the glass. Unlike the mirrors, which broke upon my touch, this glass stays intact while my body thuds to the floor. Groaning, I glare at the glass. "Well, screw you too!" I shout at it. Taking a small survey of the area, I let out a sigh of defeat. "I guess I'll have to conquer this maze." I decide to head forward, away from where the mirrors were. The more I look around, I find the glass isn't _too_ see through. I can only see as far as two glasses before I can't see anything else. Sighing in boredom, I start singing a small tune. My favorite song.

"Had to have high high hopes for a living~"

My voice carries throughout the maze, bouncing off the glass. I hear it echo back into my ears. But it's not like there's anything else in this maze, right?

"Shooting for the stars when I couldn't make a killing~"

It's nice. Walking down these halls. Nothing _bad_ has happened, so I feel kind of safe.

"Didn't have a dime but I always had a vision"

I reach my hand out to feel the cool glass of the maze. I come to a fork in the road and decide to turn right. The _right_ choice to make.

"Always had high high, hopes"

I sigh. I _used_ to have _high high hopes_. A small frown tugging at my lips. I _did_ have high high hopes when I was with Vincent...

 _Had to have high high hopes for a living~_

When we were best friends...

 _Didn't know how but I always had a feeling_

His easy smile...

 _I was goanna be that one in a million_

And he would always say…

 _Always had high high hopes~_

I swiftly turned around and brought my fist to whatever was behind me. My fist connected with something, hearing an audible crack as the _thing_ stumbled back. I wasn't sure what it was! It was like a silhouette. A silhouette of Vincent. It's hand felt around its jaw area as black fluids dripped onto the floor. Flexing my fingers I prepared myself to strike again if needed. It chuckled. A deep, dark chuckle. One of those chuckles that makes you think the person is insane.

"How could you punch…"

It's voice…

"...your best friend?"

Cocking his head at an unnatural angle, color began coming to it, forming skin, hair, eyes, a mouth, a nose, ears and clothes. An insane smile curled at its lips as it took the form of Vincent. Cracking his head back he chuckle some more. It sounded exactly like Vincent's!

"What are you?!" I shout at it, to try to keep the fear out of my voice.

"Why I'm Vinny." He replied, an easy smile replacing the insane one. I had half the mind to burst into tears and run up and hug him. Cry I'm sorry. Cry for forgiveness. Cling onto him like he will leave if I ever let go. Instead, I grit my teeth and square my shoulders, planting my feet onto the floor.

"No you're not!"

A hurt expression crossed his face. His lips dropped into a frown while his eyebrows furrow in pain. "W-what?" his voice cracked.

"You're not Vincent!" I'm more angry than sad. How dare _he_ try and make _me_ feel like shit!

His frown deepens. "What do you mean?"

"You're." I take a step closer as he takes a step backwards. "Not." I'm close enough the take his collar, and snatch it. Bringing his face an inch from mine, I whisper, "Vincent."

His frown turns into a grin. "Maybe you're right."

This catches me off guard and I release him, stumbling backward. He then bends over in laughter. This scares me and I run. I don't know where, just away from him. But his laughter still follows me as I try to escape. Every turn I make, I hear his laughter ringing. My heart thuds wildly as I try to find an escape to this madness. I stumble and fall to the ground, which gives way and I fall through it. I scream at the sudden change until my back hits something hard, making me lose my breath.

I lie there, struggling to catch air. The ceiling, floor where I used to be, has a hole where I fell through, like it was paper and not solid concrete. When I finally feel the rush of air flow into my lungs, I sit up and take a look at my surroundings. I'm still in a maze, though this one is different. This one has large, looming black walls. A small stream of water flows on the left side of the room. I get up and decide to follow the water. As it takes me around another corner I bump into a mirror. Rubbing my nose, I glare at the mirror for being in my way.

The glass inside the mirror suddenly shifts to where my reflection is no longer there, but a silhouette of a boy. He's kneeling, his arms seem to be chained to something off of the mirror. His head hangs down. I frown and touch the mirror gently, as if to reach out to the boy, when he suddenly throws his head back and screams, arching his back. I jump backwards in surprise as he screams "Help!"

I rush back to the mirror. "Don't worry!" I shout into it, like the boy can hear. "I'll help you." The problem is, I don't know how. I look around me frantically, trying to find something, anything, to help him. I finally give up, knowing there's nothing around me. I my foot and kick the mirror with all my might. The glass pieces shower upon me and behind the mirror is a black void beyond. The boy's screams fade into the humming sounds of the void. Curious, I inch closer to it, despite everything telling me not to. The void pulses with life, beckoning me closer when it snatches me. I scream as I'm surrounded by black. The void sticking to me like tar as it tries to envelope me. I fight against its tendrils, as it grabs at my clothes, fighting until it finally releases me. This time, I'm in a black room as far as the eye can see.

"Laila?"

I look behind me and see Ella. I smile in relief. Relief in seeing her. Relief in knowing she's unharmed. Tears spill from Ella's eyes and my smile vanishes.

"What's wrong?" I ask as I walk over to her.

"Y-you left." She choked out.

"What?" I blink in surprise.

"You left me alone!" she shouts.

"What! No, no, no I didn't." I kneel down to her level, placing my hands on her shoulders. "I would never, you have…"

"How could you!"

I flinch at her sharp tongue. The Ella I know was never like this, even when she was upset.

"Ella, I…  
"I wish you were never my big sister!"

I stand back up and back away from her, her glare intensifying with every step I take. I back up until I hit something soft. Turning around, I see Shay, a frown decorating his normally smiling features.

"Shay," I say. "I think there's something wrong with Ella. She's upset and I don't know how…"

"How could you?"

"What?" I look up at him in surprise. His eyes are sad as he looks at me. "How could I what?"

"How could you? How could you leave us alone? How could you run off with those...those... _creatures_?!"

"Shay. I didn't run off. They kidnapped…"

"Don't give me that bullshit!" He snaps and I jump back from him. "Don't ever come back to us. Even if you win, don't come crawling to us!"

"Crawling? Us?" I repeat.

"Yes," he replies, crossing his arms as my family gathers around him. "Us. You are _not_ a Moonstone."

"You weren't even born with a twin!" Evan spat.

"How could you look anything like us?" Sophie hisses.

"White haired freak!" Ella snarls.

"Yellow eyed monster!" Shay howls.

"Mom? Dad?" I look at them with pleading eyes. My siblings aren't making any sense! Maybe they can snap them out of whatever…

"You know Laila," Dad said. "I don't even think you're mine."

My vision blurs as tears threaten to spill. "D-dad?"

"Honestly, Laila. We pitied you. We saw you out in an alleyway, in a cardboard box. We took you in because we pitied you. Honestly, did you think we'd ever have a child like you?"

"B-but.."

"Now that you're gone," mom smiles, "we can finally be the family you destroyed."

Tears spill from my eyes as the last words penetrated deep into me. I feel my heart tearing apart as my family looks at me with condescending looks of disapproval, shame, and hatred. I want to hate them. I want to spit back in their faces. I want to make them hurt. But...I can't. Because I love them too much.

Instead, I turn around and run. Wind stings my eyes as the tears blur my vision so I can't see. Not like I need to see anyway, it's all black. I keep running, my lungs trying to bring enough oxygen into my lungs to keep my heart pounding, but my voice tightens with emotion. I release a breath, a strangled sob along with it as I escape into the unknown.

"Freak!"

"Monster!"

"Pitiful!"

"Idiot!"

"Disappointment!"

"Shut up!" I scream at their voices, collapsing onto the ground, sobbing. "Shut up…" I mumble in my arms as tears dampen my sleeves.

"Get up." I don't do anything. I'm not even sure if I even heard it. _Maybe I'm hearing voices._ "Get up." This time, firmer. I raise my head up and meet the feet of Vincent.

"What do you want?" I pathetically say. My voice clogged with emotion.

"I said, get up." He yanks me to my feet.

"What do you want?" I glare at him, snatching my hand away. I want to apologize immediately after my hand retreats, but I remind myself not to.

"This is all a test. You have to pass."

"Have to?" I scoff. "Who says I need to? My family is probably celebrating my absence."

"They're not real!" He shouts. "This is a simulation of your fears! Conquer your fear to move on!"

"And why are you here?!"

"Because...I'm sorry."

My eyes widen in surprise. "Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry." He looks at me, his eyes expressing sorrow and regret. "I'm sorry I for what I did to you. It...it wasn't right. I'm sorry. Please forgive me! I'm here so I can make it up to you but I can only stay so long."

"Vinny, I…" I choke. "I'm sorry too I-I forgive you. Now, what's going on? Where are we? How can you be in _my_ fear simulation?"

"Laila, you were always different from the beginning. I can't give you all the answers because this is only what I know. We're in the fourth dimension."

"Fourth dimension?"

"Yeah, a space between the others fear simulations. We've broken through. We have to get through the simulation. I have to go. They're monitoring so many contestants that they won't come to us for a little bit. But we have to go to stay undercover."

"Why? How do I get back."

"I wish I knew all the answers myself. Unfortunately, all I've said has been given to me second hand. Now let's get out."

"But how?" I persist. "We're stuck here." I gesture to the black surrounding us.

He smirks that smirk that makes me know that he's already got a plan. "Just think about it."

"About what?"

"About the simulation room. Where were you before you came here?"

I think about it and then say, "A glass maze."

He blinks and laughs. "You've got a glass maze?"  
"What? Is there something wrong with that?"

He shakes his head, laughing. "No, I just got a bubble room."

Now it's my turn to laugh. "Bubble room?"

"Yes. Now, let's get back to our simulations." He closes his eyes and then vanishes in a brilliant white light. I shield my eyes, to keep it from blinding me. When the light dissipated, he was gone. I take a deep breath and inhale, then exhale. _Remember Laila, conquer your fear. Don't run._ I think of the glass maze.

My eyes snap open when I hear Vinny's insane laughter flood my ears. I look over at the imposter as he is still bent over laughing. I narrow my eyes.

"What's so funny?" I ask.

His laughter stops abruptly and his head snaps to me. "Funny?" he asks in a low dangerous voice. "I'm your insanity."

I blink. "Pardon?"

Vinny's form is replaced by mine. My hair, my eyes, my skin, my face, my stature, and everything about me. She stares at me with those big golden eyes. "Insanity." She grins as she withdraws a knife. "I've always been inside you." She swings and I narrowly dodge it. "Wanting to break free." She swings again and I leap backward. "To make those pathetic flesh bags…" She lunges forth and I side step. "Pay for what they've done to me. To us."

"But I'm not you." I say firmly.

"Oh, yes you are. We are one in the same."

I shake my head. "You're a very good actor I must say. But," I wag a finger in her face, "you aren't me. Wanna know why?" She cocks her head to the side. "Because I'm…" I slap the knife out of her hand. It slides a little ways away from us. "...better…" I give her a left hook. "...than…" I kick her in the stomach. "...you!"

She stumbles and yells at me, getting down and tackled my midsection. We go sprawling on the floor with her on top of me. She sits on top and punches me in the face. I notice through the pain that she sits on my waist rather than my chest. Using her weight, I buck my hips and throw her off. She screams as she crashes into glass and smashes it. I lay on the floor for a minute to get my bearing before scrambling to my feet. I find the figure lying in a pool of its own blood, its own form showing. I cringe in disgust as I step through the glass whole it made. I figured, since this is about conquering my fears, that I should go into the hole to the next fear. This hallway has concrete walls, which matches the floor. I'm surprised that the previous walls were glass but, then again, a lot of things have been weird recently.

Keeping my hand against the wall, I walk farther away from the limp body of the _thing_. I finally came upon a room that looks like an office. It holds a desk similar to one but it's name plaque was too scratched and dirtied to read. Bookshelves line the the right and left side of the office and a once red office chair sits under a fine layer of spider webs. A portrait of a well dressed man with black hair slicked back and red eyes is directly in front of me. The man's eyes seem to watch every move I make as I make my way around the office. I dust the binders off the books to see what they read which I find useless because it is written in a language I do not know. I find a book with the color of my gi and pull it out, coughing as dust flies into my face.

When the dust clears, I open the book. This book _is_ in a language I understand, with a little bit of dust coating its pages. Gently brushing the ancient looking pages I beginning skimming. Some of the words make no sense and I have trouble trying to decipher it's dialect. Biting my lip, I squint, thinking I have cracked a bit of it when the book is suddenly slapped from my hands. Turning toward the direction of the assailant, I glare at them until I come face to face with the man from the portrait. I release a scream of surprise and jump backwards.

"Good to see you," he says casually as he brushes some invisible lint from his neatly pressed jacket. "Might I ask why you have decided to invade my private studies?" He tilts his head slightly, curiosity shining in his eyes.

"I just found it." I shrug as I pick up the book. "And I found this." I gesture to the book, closing it with a soft thud.

He gently pries the book from my fingers and muses over the cover. "A book of spells?" His eyes look over to me. "Why would _you_ need a book of spells?"

My cheeks grow warm as I stare into his, admittedly, handsome face. The way he said it made me feel embarrassed. "Well, um…you see. Hehe. It was the color of my gi and…"

"Just because it's the color of your costume, it means you _have_ to take a look?"

"Well, no, um. It was interesting…"

He holds up a hand. My jaw snaps shut. "Enough. I've heard enough babbling for one day." Tossing the book outside his study, I give him a questioningly look.

"If it is a book of spells," I say. "Why would _you_ need it though."

He looks at me with a thoughtful gaze. "You seem to be smarter than you let on."

"And you seem pretty stupid to be leaving your 'private study' in such filth." I gesture to his study as I retrieve the abused book.

"Well, it was nice to meet you." he says, a small smile dancing upon his lips. "Laila Moonstone."

My head jerks toward him. "How do you know my name?"

Ignoring my question, he gets out a quill, ink, and some parchment. Dipping the quill into the ink, he starts scribbling something careful on the yellowed paper.

"How do you know my name?" I say a bit louder. He still ignores me. I go up to his desk and slam the book down on it, trying to get his attention, or to at least flinch. All he does is scribble on. This time, my cheeks heat in anger at this incessant man who refuses to tell me how he knows me. He looks up at last and gives me a steady look. Rolling up the parchment and placing it into a small cylinder like container with a strap attached to it.

"Here you go, my dear." he says, handing the bag to me. I give him a skeptical look. "You might need it."

Indecision bites at the base of my stomach. I want to take the parchment and read what he has written. But I also don't want to grab for fear it's a trap. He swings the bag teasingly in front of me.

"What? Cat got your tongue?" he smirks.

"Fine!" I spit, snatching the thing from his hand. "I'll take it." Turning on my heel, I'm about to exist the office when his voice stops me.

"Don't forget, I'll be here if you _ever_ need me."

This sends chills up my spine as I tell my legs to move. Move away from this creepy place. Mova away from the creepy guy. Move away from the creepy study. Once I feel like I'm a safe distance away from him, I take out the parchment. _Ti inveni, Musa_. I frown. _What the hell does this mean?!_ In frustration, I throw the parchment and its bag across the hallway, stomping away from it. Onto the next fear.

 _What disappointment._ I think to myself as I continue down the halls. _It wasn't even scary._ My thoughts were interrupted when I bumped head first into some glass. Rubbing my nose, I glare at the glass when bright flashes blind me from the other side. I shield my eyes as I try to decipher what is happening. When the flashes disappear, I see before me a crowd of school students all jeering, taunting and laughing at me. My hands clench at my sides as I feel words start to bubble to my throat. My fist connects with the glass, but doesn't break.

"Die bitch!" one of the screams.

"Slut!"

"Whore!"

"Witch!"

 _Is this really one of those witch trials?_ I think boredly. _Get over it already!_

A boy walks up to the front of the tank and starts fiddling with something out of my vision. I hear a beep inside the tank and liquid rushes into the tank. I look down and find the box starting to fill with water. My breaths get quicker as I pound furiously on the box.

"Let me out! Let me out!" I scream, hammering my fist on the thick glass. Outside, the crowd grows crazy as water enters, their eyes wild with bloodlust.

The water rises quickly, coming to my kneecaps in no time. I stop hitting the glass, knowing it won't do anything and survey my torture chamber. The water seems to rush into my tank from two tubes connected at the bottom. I have to clog it somehow, but with what? My fingers feel the fabric of my shirt and I blush. Should I undress in front of them? I take a quick glance at the crowd and know my answer. Slipping my shirt off, I hear a gasp from the crowd. I roll my eyes, thankful I am wearing a sports bra. I hear whispers, but not the mean 'I'm talking behind your back' kind. More like the questioning 'What's going on' kind. Turning around with my eyebrows knit, I glare into their eyes, which were wide in shock.

"What could you possibly be shocked about now?" I snap and look down. The water has reached my thighs but red starts tainting the water. I gasp as I find the red is coming from me. The water is drawing out my blood. _How could this be?!_ When I stick my hand in the water, blood starts leaching from it like a parasite. I withdraw my hand as I feel my legs give out from under me. Probably from the lack of good circulation, and plunge under. From under the blood leaching water, I see their expressions of confusion turn to ones' of joy at my sudden misfortune. Quickly wadding up the shirt underwater, I stuff it into one of the pipes. Now for the other. My lungs burn for oxygen so I swim to the surface. Gulping air as I feel my pores leak more blood.

I plunge back under to fill the other one, deciding to use my pants to stop it. When I look up again, I see I have no more oxygen and the tank is entirely filled with this stuff. My eyes burn and I see red start taking over my vision as I slide my pants over and off my shoes. Wadding it up, I plug the other hole. I cry out in triumph, which turns out to be a bad idea because the liquid immediately rushes into my mouth and sucks at my insides. I gasp, inhaling the liquid which makes it worse. I'm drowning. I desperately claw at my throat to try to get the liquid out to no avail. My lungs feel like blood is pooling inside of it, which it most likely is.

 _This is it,_ I think as my eyes bleed out and all I see is red. _This is how I die._ Closing my eyes, I inhale the liquid, letting it take me. After a while of struggling, my body finally understands and stops fighting for survival, letting my body become one with the liquid. _This is peaceful,_ I think to myself. _I feel like I'm floating in time and space…_ I hear muffled gasps and cries. _I should be dead already, right?_ I think as I slowly crack one eye open to see what is wrong with all the dumbasses watching my corpse float in a tank filled with blood. When I blink, I notice that my veins hadn't burst but the liquid had turned red. When I looked out at the crowd, their eyes are wide in awe and they point to me. Unamused, I look down to find…

But I don't get to find out what they're pointing at because I'm being jerked away from the tank. Away from where ever I was. Away from the simulation and to the real world.

I'm awake, gasping and breathing. No liquid. No mazes. No glass. No mirrors. No private studies. And no more strange men in suits. I feel sweat bead down my face, dripping onto the floor, into my eyes, and into my mouth. It tastes salty. I feel a tap on my shoulder and was about to elbow them when they shove a glass of water underneath my nose.

"You look like you need it," Blue mask replies.

I nod, shakily taking the cup and sipping the cool liquid inside. I sigh in relief as this water doesn't suck my blood out. Smacking my lips, I take another sip as the guy takes the electrodes off my forehead. Once I'm done with the water, I set the glass down and lean back on the heels of my palm, going through what just happened in my head, absently keeping an ear on the hosts.

"Her simulation was...interesting." Blue mask says.

"What do you mean?" BEN asks.

"Here are her results." Paper crinkles.

"What the hell does this mean?" BEN shouts and paper is being smacked.

"It means her simulation was supposed to take her to here and here." Probably indicating something on the paper. "But it didn't. Mostly in here and then…"

"Then what?" BEN demands, sounding impatient.

"She goes offline for a while then comes back. And then major fear spikes here and then ends her simulation."

"How can this be! You're the one who created this shitty device!"

"I don't know. But we should probably tell Slenderman."

"Agreed."

I hear their footsteps retreat and I open my eyes. Looking around me, I find I'm left alone in the living room. Similar devices to mine are hooked up to each individual, showing their vitals and other stuff. Taking a quick glance at a girl who was near me, I saw her heart being monitored and some random crap being typed on screen. I may not be able to read the jumble of words, but I was able to read the heart monitor. It was spiking wildly, giving quick beeps with every thump of her heart. A sheen of sweat was on her forehead, matting her blonde bangs down.

I look around me and find Lucas nearby. Crawling over to him, I saw his heart monitor is decent. Like he is asleep. Calm, cool, and kind of handsome. Vinny's body lays next to him and I peer at his monitor, which is the same as the girl's. I gently brush a hand over his sweat matted hair as my heart skips its own beat, heat blossoming on my cheeks. _Vinny, please tell me that was you._

BEN comes back and he takes me to my room. Once his footsteps retreat, I try to open the door but it is locked from the outside. Sighing in defeat, I slump on the bed and wait for the rest of the simulations to end.

An hour or two later, I'm taken to dinner which is steak, green beans, milk, and mac 'n cheese. I eat slowly as the dining room fills with sounds of chewing and utensils scraping against plates. The simulation seems to have made even the most unruly of contestants keep their mouths shut. Whatever happened in their simulations seemed to have scared them. _Of course it would scare them,_ I mentally scoff, _it is a_ fear _simulation after all._ After we had finished, we went into the living room where they played the news.

"Good evening America. I'm Katrina Karma." the lady said.

"And I'm Henry Hollow here with the evening news." the man next to Katrina says. I notice this is the news from America and not the national, English news.

"Today we have been showed footage of our beloved children and their simulations of two of their deaths. The first is Seamus Dorian, which died by electricity. Further studies shown in the footage show he was brain dead, unable to come back. The second being a little girl, only fourteen, named Katie May had died due to drowning." Katrina says.

 _Drowning_ , I think. _Just like me, except I lived._

"Unfortunate souls indeed." Henry sighs heavily, theatrically. "But we still have twelve remaining contestants. Earlier today, we have posted a poll on Facebook seeing who your favorite contestants are and these are the results."

Our names appear next to numbers as it appears on screen. I'm seventh while Lucas is fifth and Vinny is fourth. The favorite is Olivia Vinia. A triumphant smile stretches across the strawberry blonde girl's face. The same girl who acts better than everyone. The girl in the hot pink gi.

"But amazing footage that has been leaked by none other than Clever Bot reveals some _interesting_ views on a certain girl." Katrina wiggles her eyebrows at the audience.

"Yes, I might even change _my_ vote after this." Henry agrees.

"We'll have to put up a poll after this to see. Now onto the footage." She swipes her hand in the air as the video comes on screen.

The video is of me! I stand with the parchment in hand, gazing at it curiously. My face shows interest as I open the parchment. My eyes widen in the video and I toss it away, running in the opposite direction. The camera view gets closer to the parchment in which the words _Ti inveni, Musa._ Whispered voices grow around me as the other contestants curiously wonder what the words mean.

"Do you know what those words mean?" Katrina asks Henry, the studio reappearing.

Henry shakes his head 'no.' "Unfortunately, I do not. But we are already receiving answers as we progress."

"Could these actually improve her popularity?" Katrina thinks to herself, even though she was asking more the audience and her companion.

He shrugs. "It could. Until next time, I am Henry Hollow."

"And I'm Katrina Karma, signing out."

The screen turns black. Our hosts' faces look white, especially Jeff's. A tense moment of silence occurs as we try to decipher what those words could mean or about the popularity or about the news report in general. Jeff finally breaks the silence by ordering us to bed. Gifts will be delivered in the morning. Hastily, we run up the stairs to our rooms, shoving each other to be the first one in bed. Doors slam as people enter their rooms until Vinny and I reach ours. Before I go into mine and he has a chance to enter his, I gently grab his elbow. He jerks his head toward me, eyes widen in surprise.

"What?" he asks.

Now that I have his attention, my mouth goes dry. I'm not sure what to say. My mouth opens to say something but nothing comes out. I want to ask him about the simulation but I'm not sure how.

"T-the simulation…" I blurt out.

He raises an eyebrow. "Yeah? So what?"

I lick my lips and swallow the lump in my throat. "What you said…"

He furrows his brows and he shakes my grasp off. "I don't know what your talking about." With that, he slams the door in my face.

Anger swells inside of me. _So it was all in my head!_ I mentally scream to myself. My fists clench and I stomp to my room, slamming my door and flop angrily onto my bed, screaming into the pillow. _Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! What the hell was I thinking?_ I fitfully toss and turn, messing the sheets up until I decide to change. Once in the pajamas, my temper cools significantly until I feel no emotion at all. Not thinking anything is weird, I fall asleep instantly as my head hits the pillow.

* * *

Jeff

"I can't believe my contestant lost." Sally sighs sadly, looking at the picture of Katie May.

"Sorry, but…" Masky sighs as he takes down her information and picture. "She just wasn't the one."

"Can I choose another?"

"That's not the…" BEN started but was interrupted when Jeff jabbed his elbow into his best friend's side. BEN wheezed from the sudden impact.

"Of course." He glared at BEN as the young Creepypasta's face lit up.

"I choose her!" Sally points to the white-haired girl.

Jeff looks up and nearly falls over. Laila's picture was encompassed in a heart that was painted in blood. Jeff turns toward BEN. "Did you do this?" he gestures to Laila's picture.

BEN's eyes widen and he glares at Jeff. "No. Did _you_?"

"I most certainly did not. Maybe it was Toby."

"W-what!" the brunette ticked. "I-I didn't do it! M-Masky…"

"Oh why are _you_ bringing me into this, you twitchy freak?" Masky growled. "For all we know _EJ_ could have done it."

"Not interested." EJ grunted, arms crossed. "Let's take a look at Hoodie…"

"Hoodie has nothing to do with it!"

All the Creepypastas, excluding Sally and the pets, started arguing over the measly picture when Slenderman interrupted them.

"What is going on!" His voice boomed throughout the room. They all covered their ears from the loud noise.

"Someone's been tampering with Laila's picture. And it sure isn't me!" BEN pointed toward the picture. Slenderman walked over and took the picture in his hands. He recognized where it came from. He also recognized the note Laila had received and thrown away. Why _he_ was after this specific girl was unknown to the faceless being.

"None of you did this. Just be sure to keep an eye on her." Slenderman repinned the picture back.

"Can I still pick her?" Sally asked innocently.

Jeff crouched down to her level. "Of course." He took a black marker and wrote Sally's initials next to Laila's headshot. Once everyone left the room, Slenderman was alone, staring at the picture of Laila. He sure as hell hoped she would survive, otherwise, _he_ would certainly return.

* * *

 **(A/N) Haha, I gave you guys a trick question. Nobody chose Laila...until now. Now, who could the man in the suit be, hmm?**


	10. Chapter 9: Keep Your Friends Close

**OMG, so sorry for posting _so_ late! Enjoy this new chapter!**

* * *

The first thing I did the next morning was check outside my door for a package, which I'm glad I did because three boxes sat outside my door, all with my name on it. I feel giddiness rise inside me as I bring each package into my room. I crack my knuckles, getting ready to tear into the first package. My nails eagerly pierce the tape and open the package. Inside is an outdoor backpack a military green color. When I rifle through the bag I find a multi-tool, hunting knife, water purification kit, and a compass attached to a string. _This could be useful._ The second package has some dried food like apples, pears, peaches, apricots, and jerky. The third package contains a thermal sleeping bag and a thermal jacket. I decide to stuff the items from the other packages into my bag in case I need it.

I jump when I hear a thump on my door. "Get up and start packing! Pack whatever you need because you're not coming home tonight!"

I frown at the last statement. _I'm not_ going _home. Period._ I slip the gi on and hoist the bag onto my back. I let a breath of air escape me as the pack bounces on my back. It doesn't weigh that much for me but it's not exactly easy to be flexible in either. Heading downstairs, I'm the only one there. Five minutes later, Olivia comes down with a hot pink, school backpack with sequins decorating hers. I raise an eyebrow. She eyes my backpack and releases a snort.

"At least _my_ backpack is fashionable." she sneers.

"At least _I_ won't be found because of my backpack." I retort.

She scowls and sits the farthest away from me. A little while later, more people come down with varying backpacks. Some were made for outdoor camoflauge, some made to be fashionable, others were more of pouches. _So our 'sponsors' do know something's up._ I muse to myself. The scenery around me reminds me of the Hunger Games where they place 24 kids to kill each other in an arena. I'm not sure if we're going to kill each other, because this _is_ a tournament. Soon the hosts come into the living room. The same routine as always except White Mask stands in front of the camera.

"Good morning humans. I am Masky." White mask, Masky, says.

 _Masky? What an odd name._ I think to myself.

"And today we have an...interesting competition for our contestants. We sent a small notice about what is going to happen so you guys can prepare our contestants for their upcoming debut. They're going to survive in the Slender Woods for two days. As in, two days and two nights. We're going to dump them somewhere deep within the forest so they can't find their way back and have to defend themselves against the wilderness. Yesterday, you saw us insert some sort of serum into them. That was for the simulation as well as a tracking device. It tells us if they are alive, healthy, and where they are so once four of them die. We can then retrieve the others.

"Now you may be wondering why _four_ contestants die. This test was created by two of us. Me and Hoodie, which you'll get to see later, and we had designed it for 16 contestants, eight competitions. It works for both of us. The things hunting them will be Smile Dog," Masky makes a noise and pats his thigh, motioning for a dog to come to him. The dog looks like a husky, but instead of a black and white coat, it has a black and _red_ coat. The black looks like hair on the animal and it has a wide smile like Jeff's. "This is Smile Dog. He will be taking out our dear contenders. And whatever other creatures lurk in the forests." Masky then looks over to his comrades and nods. "Get ready for the hunt to begin!"

And like clockwork, all the lights turn out. A little too cliche if you ask me. Gripping my backpack, I wait for whatever they have in store for me, trying to peer through the blackness. I can't see anything. I smell something that makes my head light and dizzy. _Sleeping gas!_ I feel my eyes droop as my breath quickens and I stand on shaky legs. _Stop panicking. Stop breathing!_ I tell myself. Taking a deep breath, I hold it. But taking a deep breath itself was a big mistake as my head suddenly spins. Collapsing to the floor, still clutching my bag, I faintly hear footsteps coming closer to me. I see converse shoes come into my view. Squinting, I peer up through hazy eyes but can't see who they belong to. Letting out a long, overdue yawn, I fall into the abyss as I feel someone's hands on me. They were leathery to the touch.

* * *

My eyes flutter open and the first thing I see is the blue sky and leafless trees. Groaning, I sit up. I feel weak and my heat has a gentle throb. My backpack is still clutched in my fingers. When I release it, my fingers feel stiff. I get to my feet and stretch. _First things first, make sure my bag has everything._ I get to my knees, rifling through my pack. _Knife? Check. Multi-tool? Check. Thermal jacket? Check._ I slip the thermal jacket around my waist. _Thermal sleeping bag? Check. Water purification? Check._ _Get water asap._ After going through the bag, I hike it over my shoulder. The compass dangling from around my neck. I look up and find the sun just a little over the horizon. It must _be about seven-thirty or something._ I try to think where the sun was when I was on the mansion roof but can't quite recall it.

"Shit," I curse. "Guess I'll just have to survive. But first, I need water." I check the compass and decide to head north. Maybe there will be some water there. Nothing eventful happens. Just a lot of walking and checking the compass. My stomach growls but I ignore the hunger gnawing inside me. Leaves crunch under my shoes as I enjoy the scenery around me. Today is a beautiful day. The wind gently caresses my cheeks while the sun shines through the branches, warming my body. It is late autumn, so it is natural for a day like this. But the leaves should still be falling. I shrug it off anyway.

I think about Lucas. I hope he survives. Of all the four I wish dead, I wish it were Olivia. Judging by her attitude, appearance, and overall personality, she won't survive long. She'll probably complain about her broken nails or that there's no soft bed for her to sleep on. No silky blankets to put her precious ass on. I chuckle to myself as the image of her whining comes to mind. Noon slowly approaches and the day gets warmer. I'd say it's about seventy degrees at most. It's still a little chilly, but my gi protects me from it. I sometimes wonder what my gi is made of. Cotton? Possibly. Cotton could be one of the ingredients. Unfortunately, I do not know enough about fabric and fashion to properly dissect my gi. In fact, I don't even know how many stitches it holds. All I know is that it has stitches that blend into the uniform. Sophie would know the answer though. She's taking an honors course for it. She wished to be a designer when she grows up.

The thought of Sophie sends a jolt of pain through my body. _Family…_ I think sadly to myself. But I have to push those feelings of longing aside if I want to survive long enough to see them. Sucking it up, I press forth. I'm happy that my father, brothers and I went on survival trips. We learned how to basically survive in the wilderness. All we packed was water purification, sleeping bag, matches, and a hunting knife. A little less than what I've been blessed with. We'd drive somewhere remote and walk a mile or two away from the vehicle where we'd set up camp. When I was seven, Dad showed me and Shay how to fish with a stick, some wild berries, vines, and a piece of bark. As I turned ten, we learned how to shoot a gun. We would practice on pinecones or whatever miscellaneous objects were lying around for target practice. He taught us gun safety then shooting. I was always the best shooter between me and my brother even though he's been shooting longer.

Eventually, I got to actually hunt pray. This time, I was crouched in the tall grass in a field. A healthy-looking buck in the distance about 20 yards away. With the rifle in hand and my Dad's words in mind, I shot down the buck. I first hit the hindquarters, injuring it from running away. I then hit it in the head and it fell down. It felt so good hunting my first pray. And such a large one at that. That day, we feasted on the buck. I remember Shay's jealous muttering as he only caught a fish. Even though Dad was the one who taught me to hunt, Shay was the one who taught me to shoot and combat. He's been in fighting class since he was seven and thought he could teach me, since his twin was such a wuss. He taught me self defense, how to throw knives and properly use a couple of weapons. Some of those weapons include a knife, a staff, and my personal favorite, the haladie. On my spare time, I took up weapon training to learn some more weapons like a whip, sword, nunchucks, and a bow. But I always loved the haladie. I don't know why.

Unfortunately, the survival training was to my detriment, ironically. My bullies would constantly call me a freak for not being a girly girl on top of my strange appearance. Really, there is nothing I could do about my appearance. I once thought of stealing my sister's pink hair dye just to get them to leave me alone, but they teased me more when I turned it hot pink. After that, I never dyed my hair since. I thought about getting contacts, but what's the point? Everybody knows what I look like, why hide it? They would probably make fun of whatever eye color I chose anyway.

When the sun hit high noon, I slumped against a tree, a little exhausted from the constant trekking. I lick my lips, eager for some water to come pouring, even though none came. Sighing, I got up and kept going. At one point, a blackberry bush crossed my path and I eagerly picked them. Squishing the berries between my fingers, I made sure they were, indeed blackberries. Once I was positive, I popped them into my mouth. The tartness exploded across my tongue, the juice water I wanted badly. Sighing in content, I picked some more, and more until I couldn't hold anymore. I walked on, with a pocket full of blackberries as I popped them into my mouth. As the sun started to set, my mouth and hands were covered in dark red juice. I should probably set up camp.

Finding a tall tree, I start climbing. Shay hated the fact that I was always more nimble than him, complaining about his "muscles" being too big. With my backpack secured on my back, I found the tallest, sturdy branch to keep me safe for the night. I was just about to unpack for the night when a scream interrupted me. Looking around, I spot a figure running quickly toward my tree. Squinting, I try to make out the shape when I realize it is Lucas, his black gi a spot against the orange forest floor. _Why is Lucas running?_ I think to myself, quietly observing. I notice nothing is chasing him, which makes me curious. He soon collapses at the base of my tree, so I climb down to help him. When I get down to him, I gently shake his shoulder. He doesn't respond. I shake him harder. He still doesn't respond.

Deciding he's out cold, I decided to figure out what's wrong with him. My mother used to be a nurse before she switched jobs. Unfortunately, I was too young to remember it but she would make us take health and nursing courses in case of emergencies. I try and bring up the instructions she would tell us about a certain scenario. The problem was, I don't know what's wrong with Lucas when the first instruction comes to mind.

"See if they're conscious." her voice said, crisp and clear.

 _He isn't conscious,_ I think. _So step one is done._

"If they are not conscious, check their pulse."

I check his pulse. It beats wildly underneath my fingers. _One less thing to worry about._ Next, the breaths. Licking my fingers, I place them an inch from his nose and mouth. At first, I couldn't feel anything until a steady puff of air tickles my fingers. _Now, for any injuries._ I check his lower body for any bleeding or bruising and find none. A few tears in his gi but that's all. I continue checking until I get to the head. I'm no medic or nurse. I'm me and I'm not a healer. I want to help him, but I'm afraid I'll only cause more harm than good. I wish Mom were here. She would know what to do.

I'm soon wrenched from my thoughts when a cough and gasp come from the boy lying on the ground. Uncovering my face, I gasp as Lucas struggles to sit up.

"What happened?" he moaned.

Quickly I grab his midsection. "You shouldn't be sitting up," I say.

He looks at me, his eyes widen in surprise. "Laila?"

"Hey, long time no see. What happened to you?"

He shakes his head. "I don't know. I just know I was running from someone and I ended up here. I have a _massive_ headache though."

I bite my lip. "Any other injuries?" He shakes his head. "Well, we can't stay down here. Think you can climb into a tree?" I gesture upward.

He gulps and looks at me with worried eyes. "Are you sure that's our only option?"

I tap my chin. "I don't know. But it's a great tree."

Lucas wiggles out of my arms and takes a look around him. The place is full of trees and nothing else. He holds his head and groans a little as he turns.

"See anything besides trees?" I smirk.

He looks at me, looks at the tree and back again. "Don't let me fall, okay?"

"Deal." I say. Slipping my bag on my back, I help Lucas up. His backpack is smaller than mine and is a tan color. A decent enough color to hide in the trees. "Give me your bag." He slips it off and hands it to me. The bag was surprisingly light. "What do you have in here?"

He shrugs. "An extra pair of pants, matches, string, empty water bottle and a first-aid kit."

My eyes widen in surprise. "First-aid kit?"

"Yeah," he nods then his eyes widen too, realizing what I was hinting at. Digging through his bag, I feel some hard, square object knock against my hand. Grasping it, I pull out the first aid kit, the red cross glowing in the dying light. Opening the kit, I see some antiseptic, bandages, gauze, hydrogen peroxide and...pain killers. Lucas grabs the bottle of Ibuprofen and pops two of them in his mouth, dry swallowing them.

"Those do not go down easy." He coughs, struggling to swallow the pills. I nod and repack his bag.

"The pills should numb the pain in five minutes. Until then, could you climb the tree?"

He squints upwards. "How far?"

I shrug. "Twenty, maybe thirty feet?"

"Thirty feet!" he sputters.

"Yeah, I don't see the problem."

"Are you a bird or something."

I laugh. I can't help myself. Through the laughter, I nod. "Yeah, I'm a dove."

He smiles and laughs too. "Then I'm a gopher and gophers don't climb trees."

"Not with that attitude." I nudge him. "I've got your bag. Get climbing."

He nods and starts climbing. It's a little painful to watch as he slowly struggles to find the right branches and overthinking them. Standing on them for a good ten seconds before testing another one. But I'm not complaining. At least we're in a tree. I get to a fork that is a little lower than I would have liked but pointed it out to Lucas. He shakily climbs over to the indicated branch as I nimbly follow him. When he gets to the branch, he clings to the trunk of the tree as I slide past Lucas.

"How can you enjoy being so high up?" he shakily asks.

I shrug. "Dad always said I was strange."

"Strange? The only strange thing I see is how easily you've been climbing this damn thing."

"It's not that bad." I crawl onto the same branch and get out the sleeping bag. "Once you get used to it."

"Get used to it, sure." He scoffs.

"Do you mind sharing, I'm sure it's going to get cold out here," I say as I unzip it all the way. We're both small and skinny, I'm sure we could fit.

"I don't want to fall first."

"Then you'll be just fine with me," I reply. A little higher up, I spot two perfect places for our bags and place them there, testing they will stay, which they do. "What do you think?" I gesture around us.

"I wish I wasn't here."

"You have to do this if you want to survive. There are likely wolves around these parts and the hosts said they're going to hunt us. We have a better chance up here."

"Better chance? We're thirty freaking feet above the ground! How can this be better?"

"I've done a lot of climbing in my day. And a lot of falling. Thirty feet isn't all that bad if you know how to fall."

"Oh sure, talk about falling safely. Falling is always safe."

"You know, you sure are different."

His head snaps to me, eyes wide. "What?"

"You're a lot more talkative, more expressive, less tentative. Whatever was chasing you certainly changed your personality."

"O-oh. Is that bad?"

I shake my head. "Not necessarily. Now come on, get in the bag." I gently guide a scared Lucas into the sleeping bag, then following suit soon after as sunset turns to twilight. Our stomachs growl in hunger, but that's the least of our worries. It feels weird to be pressed side by side next to a boy in such a confined space. It's warm in the bag, which makes it even awkwarder. We're both tense as I shift my leg, which is between his legs. I blush deeply and mutter an apology. He moves his arm, which brushes against my chest, him muttering an apology as well. This is sure gonna be one hell of a night.


End file.
